


Bloody Sin

by empressofthelight, Silace



Category: Original Work
Genre: Bad ass Humans, Bad ass Vampires, Blood Drinking, Blood and Gore, Drinking, Enemies to Lovers, Gen, M/M, Murder, Porn With Plot, Set in Victorian times, Shameless Smut, Slow Burn, Smut, Vampires, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-04-11 11:58:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 55,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4434638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/empressofthelight/pseuds/empressofthelight, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silace/pseuds/Silace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Detective Adrian Caulton took London by storm with his unique fighting skills and vampire knowledge. His biggest problem being a brothel owner by the name of Desmond. Adrian hates everything about him. His vampiric race, his powerful green eyes, and his sexy Irish accent. It's no surprise when Detective Caulton comes to the vampire's establishment, planning on locking the murdering scum away forever. Instead, Adrian and Desmond find themselves working together to track down a man that's haunted the detective's nightmares for years. A vampire that threatens to take over London and kill them in the process. Can true love really conquer pure hatred?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is co written with the amazing Empressofthelight and while this is not the first story she has posted, it is the first time I have ever posted anything, anywhere. Hopefully everyone likes it.

"Detective Adrian Caulton?" The young man, whose name was called, turned to face the police chief.

He held his cape around himself in an attempt to fight off the chill in the air, as he waited outside of the crime scene for the chief to finish with the preliminaries. The caped man's soft blonde hair and piercing blue eyes stood out against the dreary London atmosphere. Frowning, Adrian spoke calmly to the short bearded man in his police uniform. "Just like the others isn't it?"

The elder man sighed as he shook his head. Without another word he pulled a pipe and matches from his pocket before simply gesturing towards the residence doorway. Detective Adrian took that as a confirmation of his fears. Instead of continuing his conversation with the man, he walked through the doorway into the crime scene. The room felt surprisingly colder than it was outside, with a few officers standing around the room whispering to each other. In the center of the room, on the only piece of furniture in the whole house was a young woman of no more than 18. Lying on a white velvet chaise lounge now stained red with blood. The woman was completely naked with deep vampire bite marks on her neck and wrists. The marks didn't surprise him, but the hole in her chest where her heart should have been did.

"Has the victim been identified?" Adrian's calm, cool tone echoed off of the almost empty rooms walls.

"Yes, she appears to be a Miss Layla Smith. A....uh...She works at Bloody Sin, the brothel on the other side of the city." The detective's entire body tensed, that was exactly what he wanted to hear.

Finally a solid connection he needed to the vampiric owner of the mentioned brothel. For the last year and almost two dozen deaths later, he was finally going to put an end to that smug bastard. Just the thought of him made his skin crawl with hatred. It would seem that even his own workers weren't off limits in this blood thirsty crime spree.

"Thank you. Tell the chief I have a lead I'm investigating." Without waiting for a response the blonde man turned on his heels and left the dreary scene.

\-------

Adrian pushed open the door to the bar and entered. Looking around, the detective noticed several unruly drunks rather forcefully pestering one of the girls who worked there. Looking around the bar again, he realized that unless he personally intervened, there was no one in there who could. Taking a moment to weigh his options he decided to do his good deed for the day.

"Hey! Show some respect. That's no way to treat a lady."A few of the guys recognized him and bolted but the main drunk was not willing to back down without a fight. The man lunged at Adrian starting a fairly loud brawl.

The door to his office did little to block out the sounds coming from the main room of the bar. Desmond sighed as he rubbed his eyes and sat back from doing the books. Everything was in order, thankfully. If only his employees were so easy to manage. Several of his girls had been complaining about some of the patrons and had been showing up late to their shifts. On top of that, one girl hadn’t come in at all the past two nights and he was beginning to worry about her. He made a mental note to send one of his men to her home to check on her later that evening. Frowning down at his desk, he closed the ledger and moved it aside, contemplating if he should just be done for the night. Pushing those thoughts aside, he grabbed the payroll book and began to fill it out.

Unfortunately, the commotion from the front room became increasingly louder, forcing him to leave the office and see what was going on. His bar, Bloody Sin, was always busy. The women he employed were beautiful, and the alcohol was strong and plentiful. Because of that there tended to be a lot of drunken brawls that he had to take care of. Which of course was why he was not surprised to see a group of drunken customers causing a racket. Just as he was about to step in and send all of the men out, Adrian, the detective from the Yard that had been a thorn in his side for the past year, began yelling and chased off all but one. Instead of going over and forcing the drunk man to leave he stayed at the edge of the room and watched the fight play out between the two humans.

The fight was fairly short and contained from years of fighting as a kid, to training as a officer; the drunken fool never stood a chance. He did however get one surprise sucker punch to his jaw before Adrian threw the drunk onto the street. Now to add to his already bad mood he had a headache. As the detective made his way towards the bar to order a whisky, he caught a glimpse of the bar owner watching him.

"Ahh there you are." Adrian huffed snidely as he took a seat at the bar before smiling and speaking sweetly to the woman tending.

"A glass of whisky please my dear." The woman shook her head as if his words sounded out of place to her, before she poured him a drink and glancing at her boss.

"What brings you my lovely establishment tonight detective? Are you in need of some company for the evening?" He said in his Irish drawl.

Desmond nodded to the woman and sauntered up to the bar and sat down right next to the detective. Smirking he signaled the barmaid for another drink as the detective drained his. Slamming the cup down on the counter in frustration, Adrian bit back at least ten comments about not finding dead hookers attractive or comforting. Instead he took a deep breath and turned to face Desmond in hopes of setting his initial reaction to his following words.

"No, thank you. I'm actually here on business. I just left a murder scene involving a young woman who, I was told, works for you. Does the name Layla ring any bells?"

Frowning, Desmond faced Adrian, "Yes, she hasn't been in for her shifts for the past two nights. I was getting ready to send someone to her home to see if she was alright. Since you are here, I'm assuming that is wishful thinking."

He glanced around and could see many of the women had stopped what they were doing to try and listen to the conversation. Shaking his head, he stood and gestured towards the hallway that led to his office. "Why don't we continue this conversation in private?"

Adrian thought himself pretty good at reading people, even most vampires, and it struck him as odd how Desmond showed genuine concern, maybe even regret. That thought he quickly pushed away as he nodded to the vampire and followed him down the hallway and into the office. The detective glanced around the office, unimpressed. "Huh...I was expecting something a little more....flashy." 

Desmond glanced back at Adrian, annoyed, while his office was plain the furnishings in it were of good quality and well loved. He moved around his desk and began to put away the books and paper work. "What exactly were you expecting? Gold inlaid wood and tile. I assure you that my tastes are simple. Please sit and please tell me what happened to Miss Smith?"

"You mean you don't know?" Adrian's voice was harsh and accusing, until he noticed Desmond was genuinely confused. "She was killed by a vampire and yea, I know for certain it was a vampire. She had bite marks in the usual places vampires leave marks. The unusual part was that she had her heart ripped out and the vampire didn't think it necessary to finish drinking her blood. ....there was blood everywhere." 

The blonde detective rubbed his eyes, wishing he would have grabbed his drink as the headache really set in. Desmond tried to contain the growl that rose from his chest and failed. He angrily shoved his chair back, stood, and began pacing along the far wall. He ran his hands through his long dark brown hair in frustration.

"Why would I know?" He snarled out "Just because she has bite marks and worked for me, doesn't mean I killed her!"

He stood to his full height of 6'2" and let the anger show in his, now glowing, green eyes. He looked down when he noticed the detective looking away and shifting in his chair. Taking unnecessary breaths to calm himself, he forced himself to sit back down."I apologize for my outburst, but you must understand why I would be upset. Not only can I give you my whereabouts for the past few evenings but I have several witnesses as well. I can also tell you that none of the vampires in my territory, who answer to me, did this."

Detective Caulton continued to look down trying to collect his thoughts. His word and the word of his lackeys didn't mean anything to Adrian. Something so easily manipulated can't be trusted, but he wasn't expecting this kind of reaction. Shifting in his seat Adrian chuckled, unable to believe what he was about to say. Looking up at the vampire, but making damn sure not to make eye contact, Adrian cleared his throat nervously.

"Ok....I can't believe in saying this....Something isn't adding up. We might not see eye to eye but your not stupid and I don't think you would make a point to bring attention to yourself without doing it intentionally." The detective paused to rub his temples. "Are you absolutely sure none of your vampire lackeys aren't going rogue or acting under another's influence?"

Adrian had been so certain that Desmond had been the one who had killed the poor girl when he walked into the bar. But as he sat across from the vampire, he knew that he wasn’t the one responsible for the crime. There was no way that a vampire could fake this much caring. He learned that years ago. the blonde watched as Desmond frowned as if wracking his mind for anyone that would have stood out.

"To my knowledge everyone has been acting normal. If a vampire was going rouge you would not just have one dead woman, you would have an entire street slaughtered. As for being controlled, we vampires cannot beguile another of our kind. Our powers only work on humans but of course you already know that, seeing that you haven't looked me in the eyes once." He smirked slightly at the shocked expression his comment received but quickly gave a blank face as he thought on who could have committed the murder. "There is always the possibility of a rogue vampire coming into my territory. If that is the case, I will have my people searching this city within the hour. The other thing I can think of is that there is someone trying to frame a vampire for the murder. I have never seen a vampire, given the chance, not drain someone completely when they kill. It is, in a sense, a waste of food. "

Adrian tensed at the mention of 'wasted food' but quickly recovered by standing up from his chair. "Yeah I guess that is possible. Just keep your eyes peeled. Have a good night Desmond."

Nodding curtly to the vampire, the detective left the office and headed down the hallway with Desmond in tow. Just as Adrian was about to reach for the door one of the officers from crime scene practically fell into the bar."Detective Caulton! We caught the man in the act! The chief has him on the run. QUICK follow me, we just might get this over with!"

The man left as fast as he arrived, not giving Adrian much time to react. He glanced back at the bar owner before racing after the officer. The blonde wondered if this man was a vampire like believed or if he was human, as Desmond suggested. Desmond quickly yelled out to the bartender that he was leaving and followed the detectives out the door.

"If it is a rouge vampire I want to be there. Because if it is then you will need help and I want to question him as well." He explained when Adrian shot him a questioning glance over his shoulder.

"Which way was the killer headed?" He shouted to the other officer.

Detective Caulton bolted after the direction of the officer. After turning a street corner he caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure running on the rooftops and the officer hot on his heels, commanding the figure to stop. Both men then disappeared down an alleyway. Adrian knew the vampire could get there faster and at this point it wasn't worth fighting with the man anymore; he needed someone to apprehend the suspect. Simply put, Desmond would be faster and more effective at it. The blonde glanced over his shoulder as he shouted to the vampire. "Desmond! He's headed to the abandoned cotton factory. I'll be right behind you." 

Desmond smirked back at the detective, putting on a burst of speed, he quickly outran him. He turned down the alleyway that led towards the industrial district near the docks, only to be blindsided as the officer and another person jumped him and slammed him into the grimy alley wall. Snarling he lashed out and threw the person pinning him. “I hope you are not intending to live after attacking me." 

Adrian couldn't process the scene before him for a moment. Was the officer attacking Desmond? Thinking it all had to be some strange misunderstanding, the detective quickly jumped in and grabbed the officer before he could fully stand from being thrown into the wall. As soon as he grabbed hold of his uniform the officer bore large vampiric fangs and growled. Furious at having been tricked by a vampire, Adrian quickly grabbed his silver dagger from his belt. Unfortunately the vampire moved faster and threw him to the ground, pinning his body.

"Rookie mistake." The detective sneered as he plunged the dagger into the vampire's side.

Roaring in pain the officer sat up enough for Adrian to stab him in the heart, before kicking him back into the wall. Desmond was able to glance over at the detective to make sure that he was alright before attacking and pinning the other assailant to the wall by the throat. He growled lowly to his attacker. "Who are you and why did you attack us?" 

"We were following the orders of our master..."  Not satisfied with his attackers answer he tightened his grip and squeezed the mans throat, his nails digging into flesh. "Aggg, we were sent to distract you, so our master could see your defenses in the city, that's all I know!" 

Desmond's eyes flashed in fury as he quickly punched through the man’s chest to rip out his heart. Letting the body fall to the ground, he turned and threw the heart down the alley. Adrian dusted himself off, staring intently at the corpse of the vampiric officer.

"This isn't just a rouge vampire..." He said to the detective "This is an attack on my territory. Another master is trying to come and take over London."

"I..no we... wait a minute. YOUR territory?!" The detective's focus immediately shifted.

"Look, keep me out of your God Damned vampire politics! This vampire just sent two wastes of space to try and kill both of us. What do I have to do with this?" As the blonde threw his hands up in the air he realized he was starting to rant, more at himself then to Desmond. "It's my job to keep the people of London safe and it's yours to keep your... shit in check ...so what do we do now?"

"Yes London is my territory, did you think I only controlled a few streets?" He said offhandedly not caring when Adrian gaped at him, his eyes widening almost comically, at the amount of blood that covered him.

"All of the vampires in London know not to cross me for fear of my wrath, so I can say that 'my shit' is in fact in check. As for what we do now....I need to find out who it is exactly that is trying to take my place as master of the city."

Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration before mumbled to himself before walking in the direction of the nearest pub he could think of, which unfortunately was Desmond's. Adrian looked over his shoulder at the master vampire as he gestured to all of him. "I need a drink... and I can't talk to you like that. Too much blood for one day for me without first downing a bottle of whiskey."

With that the blonde turned his attention back to obtaining that bottle and continued down the alley back into London's busy streets.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desmond has a plan

                                                                                                      Chapter 2

  Desmond looked down at his clothes seeing the blood splatter and shrugged before following behind the detective. The normally busy street was surprisingly empty for the time of night, and made getting back to the pub a lot quicker. The crowd inside the pub had thinned and only a few drunken customers were left sitting at the bar. Not caring about his appearance, he walked behind the bar and pulled a bottle of whisky down and set it along with a glass on the bar.

"Mary, you can go ahead and leave for the night and tell everyone else they can go as well." He said to the girl that had been tending bar.

"Of course sir." She said as she quickly rushed past him and went to find the other girls."

"Gentlemen," He said addressing his customers, "We are closing early tonight. Leave now." He made sure to lace his words with authority and power and tried not to smirk as the patrons quickly scrambled to leave.

Detective Caulton poured and drank the glass of whisky as he watched people leave through the bar mirror. The shocked expressions and soft whispers almost made the blonde choke on the last of the glass. He had to admit the whole scene must have looked scandalous to everyone here.  
It wasn't a secret that the detective hated vampires and had it out for the owner for a while. Desmond, covered in blood, ordering everyone out of the bar, while he sat there painted a pretty humorous picture. Filling up the glass with whiskey once more, Adrian heard the door lock behind the last of the patrons.   

"They think we are going to kill each other." The alcohol finally soothing his nervous. The blonde couldn't stop a hearty laugh from shaking his entire frame. "I'm pretty sure I heard bets. Hahaha! And they weren't in my favor. Congrats Desmond."

The young man turned to face Desmond; leaning against the bar, glass in hand. Desmond locked the door and rolled his eyes at the detective's words. Looking down at himself and seeing the drying blood, he supposed he should change. After all it was one of his favorite shirts. Ignoring Adrian, he walked past and headed back towards his office to change into one of the spare set of clothes he kept here. Adrian smirked as he shook his head; his attention fixed on the vampire until he reached the hallway. Assuming the vampire had some kind of plan that involved his office, the young man set the now empty glass on the bar. After a quick debate over pouring another glass, he decided against it and turned towards the hallway.

Feeling the detective's gaze on his back, Desmond decided to give the man a show. Not bothering to shut the office door he began to strip off his blood soaked clothes.

Adrian instantly regretted not pouring another glass. From where the detective was standing he had a very clear view straight into the office. He watched, unable to look away, as Desmond removed his blood drenched clothes. Despite how his mind was screaming at him that this man was not human or attractive, his body insisted on reacting quite differently. He felt a blush bloom across his face with each article of clothing he removed.  
 

Adrian couldn't help but admire the vampire's perfect body. A little of the blood had soaked through the clothing and glistened in the lamplight of the office; accentuating his muscles as he changed clothes. It wasn't until the bar owner had put on new pants that Adrian finally regained control of his body. Quickly he walked over to one of the tables and sat down. Clearing his throat, the blonde tried to think of something else.

"So...what's your plan? Is there special protocol in tracking down vampire masters?" He called out, hoping his face was no longer red. Desmond walked back into the main room, not bothering to button his shirt, and smirked at the blush that graced Adrian's cheeks. "At this point, this threat to my power and territory has broken all laws and protocol set by our council for entering another's claimed territory. It is within my right to hunt him down and kill him since he did not formally challenge me." He said as he sat down in the chair opposite of the detective.

Noticing that Adrian was staring at his chest he cocked his eyebrow in question. " Is there something wrong detective? You seem distracted."

Adrian wasn't really sure how to respond at first and that caused him to blush more. "Oh I uh...I'm just tired. MOST human beings are asleep at this hour."

"That being said I'm going home and going to bed. It sounds like you have everything under control." Adrian grabbed the now half empty bottle of whisky from the bar and unlocked the front door, pulling his cape around him. "Good night Desmond."

Without looking back he closed the door behind him and quickly made his way home, cursing himself the whole way. After he unlocked his front door and entered his apartment, the detective yanked off his cape and threw it across the room. 'What's wrong with me?! I could not stop staring....I'm never drinking around him again.' With a quick glance at the whiskey bottle in his hand he wondered if it was drugged. The thought struck him as hilarious and he found himself laughing out loud as he set the bottle down on his night stand. Exhausted, detective Caulton flopped down on the edge of his bed.  
 

"I need sleep badly." With a weak smile and blush still on his face, Adrian undressed and tucked himself into bed.

 Desmond watched the detective leave and continued to sit in his empty pub as he contemplated how he was going to proceed. It wasn’t long before his second in command sauntered through the unlocked door.

“Good evening Desmond. I heard about one of the girls being killed, do we know who did it?” Jacob asked as he sat in Adrians abandoned chair. 

Desmond nodded, “Yes and no. There is another master who sent a couple of his men into the city. They killed Layla, and then they attacked me.” he stood and walked behind the bar and began wipe down the bartop. “I want you and a few of the other men to go out to and see if you can make contact with this threat.”

“Of course. I’ll get some men and we will go to the border tomorrow night.” Jacob stood and nodded a salute to Desmond and left the bar.

Desmond finished cleaning up before he left and locked up for the evening. There was very little time left before the sun rose for the day but he was able find out some information before he made it home and into his darkened bedroom room before sunrise. Smiling to himself as he laid on the large bed as he prepared to die for the day, he thought of how he was going to surprise the detective later. And as the sun rose he died with a maniacal grin on his face.  
\-------

Adrian sat on the porch of an old farm house far from London. Taking a deep breath, his nose was filled with familiar scents from a home he had a long time ago. Behind him, a door opened and shut; and a young woman of 15 with blond hair and blue eyes sat down next to him.

Adrian refused to look at her and as she spoke he fought back tears. "What happened to 'I'm never getting involved in vampire shit again?'"

He cleared his throat determined not to show his sister how badly he was hurting. "I'm not! I just went home and went to sleep. He can do whatever he needs to without me."

The girl simply laughed. "I'm actually surprised you’re dreaming about me and not a steamy make out session with a certain half naked bar owner." The blonde detective quickly buried his red face in his hands and groaned, causing his sister to laugh harder. "I am glad you did though... I miss you. But now it's time for work."

Before Adrian could say another word she pushed him off the porch and onto the.... floor of his apartment?

"What?! Oh yeah it was a dream."

Looking up at the sunlight shining through his curtains he could tell it was pretty late in the afternoon, maybe around 3. Just as he got up and dressed a knock came from his front door. Upon opening it he realized it was the chief.

"Oh detective Caulton....did I wake you?" The old man chuckled at Adrian's sleepy appearance. "Oh no, I was up late last night getting attacked by vampire policemen and such. No big deal. Any reason in particular for the house call Sir?"

The old bearded man became deathly serious suddenly. "Yes well...You already answered one of my questions. May I come in?"

Taken aback at his own rudeness, Adrian backed away from the door gesturing him in. "Sorry Sir,. I guess I’m still half asleep."

The two men entered the living area and sat down across from one another. "Would you like a drink?" The police chief shook his head.

"No....Adrian.....I know, as well as anyone who has met you knows, that you don't exactly get along with vampires." Adrian took a deep breath as he listened carefully. "I have news of a pretty powerful man in parliament that is paying men to make this city...vampire free. He's been quickly but quietly getting men together to achieve such a goal and I heard it paid really well. The job sounds right up your alley."

Detective Caulton nodded absent mindedly as he took the piece of paper with the information from the chief. "Go back to bed you look like hell. I’ll contact you if there is anything I need from you."

With that the older man stood and left. Adrian stared at the paper as he heard the door shut behind the old man. This was an interesting development, one he wasn't sure he should share with Desmond or not. As he got ready for bed again he contemplated what he should do. Should he join in a fight he wanted to be a part of ever since he moved to London? Or Should he tell Desmond that he's going to be attacked at all fronts and help him? To confused to come up with anything, Adrian hid the paper under his mattress and fell into a dreamless sleep.  
\-------

Desmond woke as soon as the sun set. Knowing he needed to move quickly in order to enact his plan, he dressed and and left his home before anyone could stop and talk to him. After finding someone willing to donate his evening meal he made his way to the detective's home. Having ascertained its location the night before, he quietly and discreetly let himself in. Following the sounds of Adrian's breathing he strolled into his bedroom and stood over the detective. He couldn't help but appreciate the detectives features. The handsome man looked younger while he was sleeping, like whatever had jaded him didn't effect him in his sleep.

Adrian rolled onto his back and stretched, still not willing to wake up fully. Without opening his eyes he could tell it was night outside and decided he should probably get up to eat something. Groggily, he slowly opened his eyes to be met with Desmond smirking above him.

"What the!?" In a desperate panic Adrian jumped up and fell out of the bed, arms and legs flailing in the blankets as he went down with a loud thud.

"What? How did you...?" The detective roared, embarrassed and angry, as he picked himself up off the floor. "What the hell do you want?!"

"I figured you would want to know as soon as possible that I have sent several of my people to try and locate this threat." Desmond said smirking, his eyes glowing with mirth.

  When Adrian's only response was to gape at him, he moved to sit on the bed. "You seemed concerned last night, was I wrong to assume that?" He said as he shifted to lay across the bed.

"No, I'm concerned alright, but do you have to just....Oh forget it." Adrian threw his arms in the air and sighed in defeat.

Untangling himself from his sheets, he glanced at Desmond spread out on his bed. He had to admit he loved the sight of the vampire sprawled out on HIS bed, enough to remind him that he was very under clothed for such thoughts. As walked his armour to get his clothes, he tried to focus on how pissed he was that the vampire just let himself into his home, his room and now his bed. Angrily grumbling under his breath about bad manners and being creepy, he began to get dressed.

After almost finishing dressing with Desmond STILL sprawled out across his bed, Adrian finally looked back at him as he spoke. "Are you comfy?"

"Mmm yes, your bed is quite comfortable and the view is lovely as well." He said smirking at the the shocked expression that seemed to be almost perpetually affixed to the detective’s face. "Are you feeling alright Adrian? You look a little flushed."

Desmond had to admit he really enjoyed making the detective blush and decided to make a game out of it. Adrian looked away, feeling his face heating up more.

"I'm gonna go eat...Are you....Sorry dumb question. I don't have anything for you to eat." Desmond had the detective so flustered he wasn't even sure what he was saying anymore and simply left the room to go make food. The smell of scrambled eggs filled his apartment.

"So what if this "master" guy comes here to attack you again? Didn't you say you sent off some people? Can you trust them?" The blonde shouted from the kitchen, hoping Desmond could hear him if he was still in his room.

"No need to shout, I can hear you just fine." Desmond said from where he now sat at Adrian's kitchen table and saw the detective jump. "I didn't mean to startle you again,"

Desmond smirked when Adrian flipped him off and turned back to the stove. "To answer your question, I trust my men and have complete confidence in them, otherwise I would not have sent them."

He continued to watch Adrian as he moved around his kitchen grabbing a plate and fork before pouring the eggs onto the plate and sitting down opposite from him and eating. "I'm not sure if he will attack again but if he does I have a plan of attack. So you don't need to worry your pretty little head about it."

Adrian stopped mid bite and slammed the fork down on his plate to glare at him. The blonde had the distinct feeling that Desmond was playing a game of cat and mouse. The more the vampire talked the more Adrian felt like he mouse. "Don't you have other people to pester? And who says I'm worried?"

"I actually don't, which is why I'm here pestering you. And you get this pinched look around your eyes when you are worried, so technically, you did." He watched as the detective paused mid bite to glare to glare at him. "You should probably eat, you don't want your food going cold."

He looked at the food and wished for a moment he could taste it. ‘If I had a Draga Vera I could.' He thought wistfully as he continued to stare at the detective while he ate. 

Adrian didn't say anything more. It struck him as odd that Desmond would care about what he looked like when he was worried. Then again maybe he was thinking too much into it. Just like he was sure he was imagining a very thoughtful expression on the vampire’s face as he watched the detective eat. When he finished he stood and set his plate on the counter before heading towards the front door. "Well we aren't going to get anything done sitting in here..."

The blond smiled as he nodded towards the door for Desmond to follow. The vampire stood and followed Adrian out of the house and waited for him as he locked the door. He fell into step beside Adrian as he walked down the street.

"So where are we going on this lovely London evening detective? I'm assuming that you don't have a shift tonight since Scotland Yard is in the other direction." He glanced over at the man trying to see if he actually had a destination in mind.

“Yeah, I got the night off.” Adrian nervously ran his fingers through his blond hair, thinking about the paper under his mattress.  
If he was going to choose to help Desmond then he needed a reason, more like three reasons. He already had two; his sister's approval, she would have immediately yelled at him if she didn't, and that Desmond followed him last night he could have stayed assuming the detective was after a human. If the vampire hadn't come with him, he would have died. He just needed one more reason to....kinda... trust him.

“And yeah I kinda have a place in mind. Ever since those murders started, we noticed 'activity' increased over by the abandoned factories on the Waterfront. I mean you probably know all about what's going on over there, but I thought we'd check it out.” Adrian turned to face Desmond, still avoiding eye contact, and gave him a weak smile. If he didn't get another reason tonight he would contact the guy tomorrow. Something inside him really hoped Desmond succeeded.

Desmond chuckled at Adrian put his hand on his heart dramatically. " I'm hurt that you think I would have affiliated myself with the shady dealings along the waterfront."  
Grinning at Adrian's scowl he continued. "The activity you have been noticing might be some of my people. When news of the murders reached me I sent a few of my men down there to do patrols. But by all means let's go take a look.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Old flames can hold grudges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Empress and I are hopefully going to try and post another chapter tonight...if not it will be up tomorrow.

                                                                                                       Chapter 3

 

Adrian was beginning to regret not having a drink before they left. As they approached the docs a heavy fog rolled into the streets. Just before it had fully engulfed the two men, the detective could have sworn he heard shouting. Looking towards Desmond he realized the vampire didn't react to it. 'maybe I'm hearing things, or maybe it was just drunken musings from the sailors that traveled through here.’ After walking a little further into the fog, a woman's voice became very clear.

"Loyal to the end I see. I'll admit I'm impressed." Adrian quickly grabbed a hold of Desmond sleeve halting both of them as he listened carefully. "It's a shame really, I doubt he'd do the same."

The fog faded a little, revealing a woman in red standing in front of two men who appeared worse for wear. The woman raised a pistol at one of the two men. Adrian reacted without thinking, having his crossbow he fired at the woman's hand causing her to drop the gun and inhumanly howl in pain. 'Damn it, she's a vampire.'

Desmond swore under his breath as he recognized the woman and quickly grabbed the crossbow from Adrian's grasp.

"Don't shoot her!” he huffed out “She's more of an annoyance then she is a threat. I'll take care of this."

Handing the crossbow back to Adrian, he ran over to the woman and quickly restrained her before she could grab the fallen pistol. Looking over at his two men he snarled. “Leave here at once. I hope that when we see each other again you have a really good excuse for this." 

As they disappeared from view, he turned his attention to the woman in his hold. " Gabriella what are you doing? Why are you attacking my people?"

"Ha! I missed you too love." she purred out sarcastically.

As Adrian slowly approached, he noticed how she had stopped struggling and seemed to lean into Desmond. As he watched the two, a pang of jealousy twisted his stomach in knots. Though, he did have to admit Desmond had good taste. She was gorgeous, but he was pretty sure she was missing her heart and soul too.

"I was just playing with them my darling. You know how I get bored." The maniacal smile faded from her lips as she glanced in the detective’s direction. "Oh how thoughtful Desmond, you brought dinner."

Adrian's whole body went rigid with fury. Just as he was about to give her a piece of his mind, Desmond beat him to it.

"I am not your darling, or love anymore Gabriella! And detective Adrian is not anyone's meal." Desmond growled and he shoved Gabriella off of him but still kept a hold of her wrists. 

He squeezed his hands causing her to squeak in pain. "Explain to me why you thought attacking my people would endear me to you again? Because at this point it is taking quite a bit of my self restraint to not rip your throat out."

"Attacking?" A dark evil grin flowed over her face. "Oh Desmond, is that what you thought that little display was? I was simply asking your men how they could follow a spineless, weak, and unsatisfying 'Master' Vampire I ever had the displeasure of knowing. I offered a them a new Master who will actually protect them." Adrian's jaw couldn't be closer to the ground. He didn't know whether to applaud the girl or to cringe. Instead he involuntarily picked a third option.

"Hahaha! 'unsatisfying?' Oow that was a low blow. What did you do to her Desmond? She's pretty pissed." Adrian was still laughing as Gabriella snarled at him.

Desmond growled, snapping Gabriella's attention back to him as pulled her wrists behind her back.

"She's just angry that I got tired of dealing with her and her temper tantrums. That and her disregard for anyone other than herself. And if I am so weak, Gabriella, why is it that I have held this city for over 50 years?" he asked in a low dangerous tone. He could see the surprise on Adrian's face when he said that, but chose to address it after he was done dealing with the current thorn in his side.

"Why would any of my people want to help you? They hate you and they made it very clear when you left." He said venomously to her.

"Not all of them agree with how you run things, my dear. I'm simply here to encourage such opinions."

Adrian raised his brow in confusion. "London is one of the safest cities for vampires in this entire country. What is he not doing?"

Gabriella didn't seem to acknowledge him at first then spoke to him as if he was a child. "Vampires are not supposed to be safe, that is a human desire. We are made to destroy and conquer, something Desmond refuses to do. In 50 years he should have expanded his territory but he has no ambition. So like I said before, weak." The vampire snarled and managed to to out of Desmond grip. With a smirk she disappeared into the fog.

"Do you want to go after her?" Adrian asked nonchalantly, a smirk on his face.

Shaking his head in frustration he stared off in the direction that she disappeared. "No, while she may not be strong, she has always been very good at hiding in the shadows." Sighing, he motioned to Adrian that they keep moving and continued along the docks. Looking over at Adrian he could see the curiosity written on his face."I suppose you have questions now? About me specifically, I assume."

As much as Adrian wanted to dive right into asking the vampire about being the Master of the City of London, he couldn’t help but be really curious about this “Gabriella” vampire. “So that sounded like a pretty nasty break up. What happened?”

Desmond snorted at Adrian's bluntness. "I wouldn't say it was a breakup per say, mostly because we were never actually courting. It was more of a mutual agreement for sex." He said matter a factly "When she began taking liberties with her position, assuming I would let her get away with making mistakes and punishing my people, I ended it and told her that she needed to leave the city. This is the first time I've seen her in five years."

Silence fell between the two men until Adrian cleared his throat. "50 years huh? Even I know that's a long time ruling over this particular city. London has been the hub of several vampire wars. I'm impressed." Adrian gave Desmond a genuine, warm smile that changed quickly into grave seriousness. "She didn't give you enough credit; what you've done is incredible, I hope you know that."

The detective continued walking with the vampire in silence before he could come up with how to word his next question. "So I know Master Vampires have Drága vére. Who is yours?"

If there was a way to avoid answering the question without it being obvious, he would have. But instead he choked as he sucked in a mouthful of air in surprise.

"I umm...why does it matter?" He managed to wheeze out.

Seeing Adrian's arched eyebrow was enough of an answer, he knew that the detective was going to be persistent until he finally relented and told him.

"I...I don't have one. I've never had one. I always just take my meals from the willing donors who like to frequent my pub." If he would of had the ability to blush, his face would have been scarlet. He knew it was strange to not have a Drága vére but he had never found someone who he trusted or had a connection with.

"I see..."

Despite the numerous questions about that he wanted to ask, Adrian decided to give Desmond his space. He doubted highly that the answers to those questions would be answered truthfully if he pushed it. He could not decide if it was just bad luck, being particular, or because he was afraid, that would cause him to live this long alone. 'Something we have in common that I never thought we would. We are both afraid to trust someone.' Adrian couldn't help the smile that crept its way through his defenses. Whether it was true or not, that thought was very comforting.

"I don't have anything more to ask you Desmond. Do you have anything to tell or ask me? After all it's only fair."

Desmond gave Adrian a narrowed look. He was unsure of the detectives motives, but decided to play along. After all, he was interested as to why he knew so much about vampire politics and other information that was generally not known to humans. "How is it that you know so much about us vampires? Most humans know very little about us, yet you seem to know an abundance of information. For someone who hates our kind so much you seem to be very well informed."

"Oh well....I make it a point to know my enemy?" As Desmond continued to stare at him, the blonde let out a long sigh. "That is true though, I kept up with it after I moved here to better protect myself and do my job. But I grew up around vampires. My mom was a Drága vére for my dad or stepdad, I should say." Adrian became really quiet all of the sudden, like he was lost in a bad dream. "My dad taught me vampire formality and politics and my uh...best friend at the time, taught me their ruthlessness, both lessons I won't forget."

Silence fell over the pair as they neared Adrian's apartment. "Look I need to get some sleep before my shift today, I’ll see you around, Desmond."

"Good night Adrian." He replied as he watched the detective let himself into his home.

Turning, he began walking towards the pub only to realize that it was probably too late to do any work. Sighing he changed directions and began to wander towards his home. 'So his step father was a master...Hmm I think I should do some digging into that. Especially since something obviously happened to cause him to hate us so much.' Walking up to his doorway he looked at the sky and could see the signs of morning as the sky slowly began to lighten. Not wanting to risk being caught by sunlight, he let himself into the house and made his way into his room. Barely making it onto the bed as the sun rose and he died for the day.

Adrian solemnly strode through his apartment to his bedroom. He sat slowly onto the bed staring out the window, and tried not to think of his family. Quietly detective Caulton undressed and slid into bed, his eyes heavy with exhaustion and grief, and fell asleep. Almost as quickly as he fell asleep, it seemed, Adrian was startled awake. Looking around the dark room, he couldn't find anything suspicious that would have woke him until he heard the sound of a crossbow being fired outside. As quietly as he could, the young man snuck out of the room and down familiar stairs to the back door. Ever so quietly, he managed to open and shut the door behind him. A warm summer night breeze tickled his nose with his long blond hair. As he looked around for a source of the sound, Adrian began to hear voices. Faint at first, but then became quite clear.

"My love, you must stop that. You’re going to wake the children with your games." A bright smile formed on the young man's face as he recognized that voice.

'Dad!?' Wanting to hear more of the exchange, Adrian crept closer and hid in a bush next to the barn. Inside he could see his father leaning against one of the support beams and his mother firing a crossbow at cans on the other side of the barn.

"Games? I'm practicing. We can't all be Master Vampires with no fear of death. I have a family to protect." Adrian's mother raised the bow again firing at a can, hitting it dead on.

"I can protect you and the children just fine, thank you." Adrian’s father retorted.

At that remark she turned to him and smiled. Nothing hurt more then seeing that particular smile on his mother's face. It was the one she had when she knew she was right. Every argument Adrian had with his mother would end with that smile. He thought he had won, when really, she was just waiting.

"Then who's going to protect you? One man can't do everything, no matter how powerful he is."

The master vampire raised his brow before walking over to his lover. "If you insist..."

"I do."

As his father leaned down to give her a kiss, Adrian's vision went blurry then black. In the darkness he could hear his mother's screams and a pair of burning red eyes appeared, boring into his soul.

"MOM!" Adrian sat straight up in his bed covered in sweat, tears streaming down his face. "Bloody hell....that nightmare again."

The blond sobbed as he pulled his knees to his chest. He wasn’t sure how late in the day it was because of the rain, though he was pretty sure it was before noon. Adrian listened to the sound of the rain hitting the window, it calmed him enough to get out of bed. Silently Adrian got dressed and ready for work as usual until he walked by the nightstand to grab his dagger. A small piece of paper stuck out from beneath the mattress.

"Oh yeah....I forgot about you." Picking up the paper and shoving it in his pocket, the detective left his house to go to work. The rest of the day was normal, but all Adrian could think about was how to find Desmond’s house so he could scare the shit out of him, like the vampire had done to him the night before.

"So detective....did you think about the job?" Adrian jumped a little as the Chief of Police grabbed his shoulder.

"Oh...yeah, yeah....I don't know. I mean...not right now...I have a lot on my plate and...I need to handle that first." The old man raised his brow before smiling wildly as he slammed his hand on Adrian's back.

"I'm proud of you son. Revenge is a consuming business best left to the devil himself. Good decision." Detective Caulton smiled awkwardly before thanking the man.

"So...I thought you might want to know that 'they' know where he lives."

Now Adrian was really confused. "Who's they? What?'"

"THEY" The old man winked as he whispered. "They know where he lives, I saw the paper and wrote down the address."

The chief handed a paper over before he spoke again normally. "I'd go check on him, it's the neighborly thing to do."

The detective nodded before saying his goodbyes. As he left the station, Adrian practically broke out into a run. 'Damn it old man, why didn't you say something earlier?!' When he reached the address the first thing he did was check for any signs of a break in, thankfully there weren't any. Nonchalantly, he picked the lock and entered the home before locking the door behind him. Pulling out his crossbow and dagger, Adrian searched every room before ending with Desmond's room. There were still two hours till dusk, he couldn't stay in the room and wait to be attacked. Quietly he left the room and hid down the hallway. Sure enough not twenty minutes later, three masked men snuck into the hallway. Adrian jumped out behind them, crossbow pointed at the closest man's head.

"You are under arrest for breaking and entering with intent to kill. Put your hands up and come with me." He really didn't expect them to comply but he had to try.

With a snort the closest man spun around only to receive an arrow through the head. The second man lunged at him, the detective dodged and managed to use the dagger to slice open the man's throat. The third man aiming his pistol when Adrian shot him in the chest with another arrow. Standing, he looked around around the hallway at the three dead men and blood everywhere. With a tired sigh, Adrian lifted the crossbow into better view to reload it. It looked exactly like the one from his dreams.

"Thank you mom." He whispered as he walked over the bodies and into Desmond's room.

Noticing the lack of furniture, he decided to look for a simple backed chair. Finding one in another room, he brought it into Desmond's room. Straddling the back of the chair Adrian waited for Desmond to wake. He rested his chin on his folded arms over the back of the chair and despite his efforts, sleep took ahold of him.

When he opened his eyes he was sitting in a similar chair in his sister's room. "Hello sleepy head. Soooooo have you kissed him yet?"

Adrian's sister lay in her bed with a book her hands, but she was much more interested in him.

"What?! No and I don't plan on it!" His cheeks hurt they were so red. "Hahaha! You’re so cute when you blush like that Brother."

All he managed to retort was a mumbled 'shut up' before his blush deepened.

"So....I noticed you've been thinking about mom and dad...." His sister's somber tone caused him to return his attention to her.

"Yeah....do you think they are together now? In death." The young woman tiled her head as if being asked a silly question.

"Of course they are, they were soul mates." Adrian didn't seem convinced.

"Are they? I know you and mom are in heaven...can dad be there to?" This time she seemed annoyed with the conversation and looked at her book.

"I'm right here with you Adrian. How can I be two places at the same time?" He shook his head and laughed sadly. "No...this isn't you...it's just me not being able to let you go."

He didn't mind that she didn't respond to him. He just wanted to be in the room with her, remember her, just like she was right now.

As soon as the sun set Desmond woke and was greeted by the sight of young detective asleep in a chair by his bed. 'I bet he thought he was going to get the drop on me.' he thought as he chuckled quietly to himself. His humor quickly vanished as his nose picked up the scent of spilled blood. Instantly becoming worried he quickly looked over the detective. Relieved that Adrian was ok, Desmond grinned as he stood and walked over to him.

"Adrian" he said in a low husky voice as he reached up and lightly touched the back of his neck. "You need to wake up."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New living arrangements

                                                                                         

 

Adrian's sister turned to him with a bright smile. "You better wake up lover boy, your boyfriend is talking to you."

Suddenly Adrian felt something on the back of his neck. Before he could react, she kicked his chair startling him awake. The detective jerked awake causing himself to lose his balance and he and the chair toppled to the ground with a thud.

"Desmond?!" Adrian held the back of his head in pain as he looked up at Desmond's very amused expression. "Every bloody time! You’re lucky I didn't kill you!"

"Oh yes of course, I'll be sure to be wary of your deadly snores." He said laughing as he moved over to his armoire and began rummaging through it for clothes. "So are you going to tell me why my home currently reeks of blood that is starting to go stale?"  
“I know none of it is yours, so what happened?” He said as he pulled off his shirt from the night before.

He continued to undress not caring that Adrian was still in the room. Adrian grumbled angrily as he picked himself up off the floor, dusting himself off and adjusting his clothes.

Adrian kept his head down as he spoke angrily. "Look I got a lead that someone was going to kill you so I investigated. Turns out those three guys, who are dead in your hallway, weren't willing to talk it over. So I took care of the problem."

Adrian looked up to see a very under dressed vampire. His mind went blank for a moment, unable to remember what he was going to say. He secretly thanked the darkness for making it harder to see and easier to get his thoughts together.

"No need to thank me. Just doing my job." The detective meant to sound sarcastic but instead he sounded distracted.

"I really do appreciate that you were here." He said as he turned around and faced Adrian. "Being dead during the day is a tremendous disadvantage, especially when it comes to defense."

He sighed staring off into space, he quietly whispered "I miss daylight sometimes..."

Shaking himself he looked at Adrian and grinned at the blush that was forming on his face. "Do you see something you like detective?"

'Oh shit.' Adrian's blush deepened to the point of almost painful. For a moment he couldn't think of anything to reply except for "Uhh..." Looking around the room for a way out only to find nothing, the detective thought he'd fall back on common knowledge.

"Vampires are known for their looks....You know you’re attractive Desmond, quit being condescending."Shaking his head he began pulling on his clothes. "I've never really paid attention to my looks, but if you think I'm attractive I'll be sure to use that to my advantage.” He smirked at the murderous look Adrian was giving him.

Adrian hoped he could change the subject. "Besides, London looks awful most days with the rain and fog; you aren't missing much."

Desmond he finished dressing and walked over to the door and opened it, looking into the hallway.

"Hmm lovely" he said to the corpses that were currently occupying his floor. "Blood is always such a pain to clean out of wooden floors."

Adrian laughed, he couldn't help himself. The somber tone of Desmond voice mixed with an image of Desmond cleaning the hallway just struck him as hilarious.

"Hahaha! Desmond... ha ha...You’re not listening. It doesn’t matter, you can't stay here anymore." Taking a few steps closer, the detective looked out of the doorway as well. "If I were you I'd have one of you lackeys clean it. You have to find somewhere else to stay. They know where you live."

Desmond thought about it for a moment. "I suppose you're right. I'll have a few of my men come in and dispose of these." He gestured to the bodies "And clean, in the mean time I'll have to look into finding a suitable place to stay."

Frowning he looked back at his bedroom. "How did they find out my address? Very few people outside of you and the vampires know it's location."

"Yeah, I'm working on that. All I know so far is that someone wealthy is out to kill you."

Adrian stood in the doorway with Desmond. Leaning around the door frame to look at the bodies, the detective shook his head. "These men knew me...well I mean they knew I was a detective. They didn't even hesitate to attack me. The reward for you must be impressive."

The blond sighed disappointed. "They were good men."

Unable to look anymore, he stood up straight next to Desmond. This had to be the closest he'd ever been to him, but strangely it didn't seem to bother him. Looking back into the bedroom at the chair on the floor, it occurred to him that no matter where Desmond stayed he couldn't stay alone. The thought crossed his mind of the bar owner staying with him, but then again what if they knew where HE lived.

"I wonder if they caught on to the fact that I betrayed them yet." Adrian mumbled as he looked at Desmond, a mischievous smile across the detective's face.

Desmond looked at Adrian puzzled and wearied by the devilish smile that now graced his features. "What exactly are you thinking that has you so amused detective? And what do you mean that YOU betrayed them?"

Adrian leaned against the door frame as he watched Desmond sit on the bed. "I was offered a job; one to kill vampires, by the same guy who hired those three. I only told one person that I wasn't accepting the job. That person being the one who warned me about them."

"So this guy, in theory, is still under the impression that I want what he wants. If that's the case, Desmond, my place is the safest in all of London for you."

Looking away from Desmond in deep thought, he whispered to himself. If he took the job, he could get rid of some of the vampires that he's been wanting to for years, and it would give him information as well as keep the attention off of him. “Maybe I should take the job…”

Desmond stared at Adrian in slight disbelief. Did he really want him to stay with him? And on top of that, was he still considering joining those who meant to kill him? Though the more he thought about it the more it made sense.

"I'm not sure if you are aware or not, but my hearing is exceptional." He said smirking as the color drained from Adrian's face. "If you were to join these men in their cause to eradicate vampires, it would put you at an advantage. You would know what they were planning and when they would make a move."

He explained when Adrian looked shocked that he was agreeing that joining would be helpful. "Also are you sure you would be alright with me staying in your home? And do you have another bedroom?"

"Well no....but I have a sofa, and honestly, I'm not seeing a lot of sleep in my future. I'll have to work and watch over you, and at night get woken up by you and attacked by vampires...Ya know the usual."

'Wow I really don't sleep do I?' Adrian stopped leaning as soon as he saw Desmond was ready to leave. "I should go contact Scotland Yard and report these 'murders'. That way it will look like someone else, then go about business as usual. Let them think they have failed. I'm going home and going to sleep, you can take care of yourself tonight can't you? Oh yeah..."

Adrian walked out into the hallway. Standing over the bodies he reached down and grabbed an arrow from the two guys he shot. Now there was no evidence it was him.

"I'm sure I can keep myself occupied at the pub for the night, I’m sure I have some paperwork to do. I'll also let some of my men know to come and clean up once the officers leave." He said as he stood and followed Adrian out into the hallway and watched him pull his arrow s from the bodies.

"Wake me up when you come over. Sound like a plan?" Adrian huffed as he stood up.

"That sounds fine. If it would be more convenient, I can have my coffin brought over and put in your cellar, so that way you aren't having to sleep on your sofa." Seeing the vacant expression on the detective's face, he realized that the house did not have a cellar. "Never mind, I will see you in the morning before dawn."

Adrian smiled at the vampire before he nodded. "Good night Desmond."

After that he left the home and headed for Scotland Yard. Upon arriving he was met with several beat up policemen and a tall, wealthy looking man.

"What on earth happened to you?" Before any of them could respond he heard the Chief shout his name from the office. Cringing, Adrian walked into the office; unsure of what he did.

"Where have you been?! It's like the city's gone crazy. Two of the men were attacked by a vampire, they barely got out alive."

Before the old man could continue, the detective saw an opportunity to mention the bodies.

"You got a multiple homicide down the street. Seems to be breaking and entering, three dead, you should probably have someone check it out." "I also came down here to tell you I'm going to take that job." The chief stared at him in disbelief.

From behind him came a smooth, cold voice. "Interesting, the Chief Inspector just told me you turned it down."

Adrian turned to see the wealthy man behind him. "Yes I did, but I've changed my mind."

The man stared at the detective and scoffed. "You have been seen with the Master of the City two days in a row. Some have even ventured to say you were friends with that creature."

Adrian laughed. Friends? Is that what they were? "Look here you stuck up bastard I don't have 'friends.' People and creatures, as you put it, are deceitful, ruthless, and conniving. Any time or conversations I have with others are to better do my job. I'm a detective dumb ass, spending time with suspects is my job."

Adrian glared at the man he realized he probably shouldn't have insulted a would be employer, but it was too late now. A pleased look spread across the man's face as he chuckled.

"Your detective has spirit and determination Inspector, we could sure use that." The man took a step towards Adrian and held out his hand; which Adrian took in a very formal hand shake. "Congratulations son, and welcome to the cause. You get paid by head, each kill. Obviously if you kill the Master or the right hand you get more. Other then that, no rules. I'd advise hunting during the day, it's easier."

Detective Caulton shook his head. "I won't kill someone who's defenseless no matter who they are, but thank you for the advice."

The man turned to leave but then stopped. "Adrian, those three men were our own. If you find their murderer I’ll pay you extra to kill him."

Adrian nodded curtly. "Yes sir."

With that the man left with the inspector behind him, locking the office door. "Have you gone mad?! Is Desmond dead?"

Adrian crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. "What's it to you old man? How do you know Desmond? Better yet....why are you always trying to help him?"

When the old man just stared at him, the blond sighed. "Desmond is fine. No I don't want to kill all vampires and yes I may be......friends....With him.....maybe."

The inspector relaxed. "I have been on this force for 50 years next year, and since I took this position everyone has credited me with the peace in this city. But I know....and he knows, it's really been him. I can't directly help him, but I can try to help anonymously."

"Through me." The inspector laughed defeated.

"Yes, through you. So I’ll tell you what I know and keep them off your tail, but soon it won't be safe to speak here...where is Desmond staying now?"

The question surprised Adrian, as he felt his distrust of others coming back. "He's safe."

Luckily a knock on the door ended the conversation. "Good night inspector, I’ll see you tomorrow."

The detective left the old man to his work as he walked out and down the street heading to his home. That was....The weirdest experience of his life. Is he my friend? He knew that he had said Desmond was but... Adrian ran his fingers through his hair, resting his hand at his neck. He had friends before, this feels different. Why was he doing this?! Just because she approves of him? He would be the first...friend...Adrian’s ever had that she liked, but it's not really her... So what does that mean? Adrian was starting to get a headache. One thing was for sure. He REALLY want to help Desmond. More than he ever did...before, if that's possible. Is Desmond really just using him too? Adrian hasn't realized that he had stopped walking. He just stared the ground, unable to sort his feelings from his thoughts. What if it happens again? He didn’t think he can do this again. The blonde looked up into the dark sky.

"I really need to get some sleep." Adrian finally started moving again and didn't stop until he plopped down on his bed. With some maneuvering, he managed to get his clothes off, covered himself up, and fell asleep.  
\-------  
Before heading to his pub, he made sure to check in with some of the men he had posted around the city. Apparently more of the threats lackeys had entered the city and started a ruckus with some of the local police but had run off before they could be taken out. He also arranged for some of the men to clean his house the following evening. When he finally made it to the pub he quickly let the bartender know he would be in his office before he spent the rest of the night doing mindless paperwork and hoping Jacob could locate the other Master quickly. By the time he finally looked up at the clock is was going on 4:30 a.m. He supposed he should lock up for the night. Making sure all the oil lamps were out he left the pub and locked its doors before heading back to his home to grab his clothes. Desmond wondered how long he would have to stay with Adrian. He quickly and efficiently packed a bag and left. When he finally made it to the detective's home it was nearing dawn. Glancing at the sky he sighed and let himself in and walked to the bedroom. When he saw the detective asleep he almost felt bad for having to wake him.

"Adrian," he said quietly as he shook the man's shoulder lightly. When Adrian blinked sleepily at him he smiled, it was quite an endearing sight. "Where would you like me to sleep?"

"Hmmmm? Oh yeah, hang on." Adrian sat up and stretched before getting out of the bed. "The rooms all yours. I have a busy day today so I won't be bothering you."

Adrian walked over to his closet and began to dress. "Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you that I talked to the guy...I didn't get his name but he took the bait. I also talked to th...."

In an attempt to put on his boot standing, Adrian lost his balance and fell over. Now blushing profusely the detective cleared his throat and grabbed his other boot.

Deciding it was safer on the floor, he continued. "The Chief Inspector was the one to tip me off about their plan. What do you know about him?"

"I met the Inspector when I first took over as Master of the City. He is a good man and I trust him. He has always been very helpful, we tend to let each other know when something big is going on." he began to undressing for the day and sat on the bed."As much as I would like to tell you more, I'm about to die for the day." He said with a small sad smile. "I will see you tonight." He said as he laid down and the sun rose.

Adrian got up off the floor and crossed the room to shut the curtains. He turned around and looked at Desmond as he lay there. While he stood there his mind began to wander. Adrian thought for sure that a good night's sleep and a talk with his sister would clear things up with how he was feeling. Unfortunately his sister never appeared in his dreams last night. He feared that he may have made her mad telling her she basically didn't exist. As he stared at Desmond, he wondered how he'd sleep later knowing his bed had a dead body in it. With that thought he laughed and walked out of his apartment locking the door. The day was long and it became apparent that, he and Desmond, needed to do something about the vampires in the city. In a matter of six hours he had reports of some 15 vampires destroyed. Luckily, no one knew where Desmond was. He had a hard time keeping a straight face as he heard two men arguing about where the Master Vampire could be. The end of his shift had to be the worst. Some of the officers and vampire hunters were discussing killing the girls that worked at Desmond bar. That pissed him off and he, very loudly, told then he'd personally hunt them down if they touched a hair on those girls heads and make them wish for prison when he was done with them. Needless to say no one talked to him the rest of the day. At about 6:00p.m. Adrian decided to call it a day and head home. Opening his apartment, the detective made his way to his room to check on Desmond. Standing next to the bed, the blonde looked around the room and then back at the vampire. Satisfied that Desmond would be ok he walked into his living room where he laid on his sofa. Before he knew it, he was asleep.

The sound of floor boards creaking woke Adrian up. Without thinking, he bolted from the sofa and ran into his room. What he saw caused him to yell and jump back. His sister was sitting in a chair reading a book next to his bed, where Desmond was lying. The curtains were open and the beautiful colors of the sunset spilled into the room, covering everything.

"Oh there you are Adi. I thought Desmond would like to hear a book while he slept." She smiled almost childishly at Desmond before returning her gaze to Adrian.

"Vampires die during the day sis, it's not like they are sleeping and dream of the book like we did when mom read to us."

As he walked into the bedroom and shut the door his sister pouted at him. "Mom used to read to dad during the day."

Adrian frowned at her. "She did? I don't remember that." In response, she simply nodded her head. "What book are you reading?"

The young girl closed the book and handed it to him. "Frankenstein? Only you...Emma."

Sticking her tongue out at Adrian, she took the book out of his hands.

"So....you wanted to talk to me." The young man sighed as he paced the room.

"Well I did but..." Adrian gestured towards the bed. "You know..." Raising her brow as she looked between the two men, Emma rolled her eyes.

"Now where was I before I was so rudely interrupted." Giving up, he sat down on the floor at her feet, leaning against the bed. Emma opened the book and then peered over the top. "Isn't it normal to want to protect what you care about?"

Confused as to what she was getting at, the detective frowned deeply at her. "You wanted to know why? Well there's your answer."

Not waiting for a response from him, Emma began to read the story from the spot she had stopped at earlier. As he listened to her read his eyes became heavy and he fell into a dreamless sleep.  
\--------

As soon as the sun set Desmond woke. Sitting up he looked around and noticed that the curtains had been opened and a chair had been pulled up next to the bed with a book lying open on it. As he moved to get up his foot hit something and when he looked down he saw Adrian asleep on the floor. Sighing he stood and lifted the detective and set him on the bed, then went about getting dressed for the night

Adrian rolled over snuggling into the blankets with a content sigh. Wait a minute? Blankets? Opening his eyes, the detective sat up slowly and looked around the room for Desmond. The blonde averted his gaze when he realized Desmond was getting dressed and by chance looked at the chair next to the bed. He couldn't remember putting a chair there. As he leaned closer to the chair he saw a book resting on it. Adrian's eyes widened as he saw the title. Frankenstein. The young man made a really strange sound, something mixed between horror and shock, and jumped back landing on the floor on the other side of the bed, wrapped in blankets.

Desmond turned as he heard Adrian flail and fall to the floor. Stifling a chuckle, he walked over and helped untangle Adrian from the blankets.

"Are you alright? You know you really should try not to fall out of bed, you could hurt yourself." He said cheekily with a smile while he helped the detective to his feet.

Adrian's head was spinning. She's.....she's real?! Was he sleepwalking? This is impossible! The young man was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he almost didn't hear Desmond.

"Oh yeah...I know." Adrian began to blush now realizing how foolish he looked. "Sorry....I just.....thought I saw something I couldn't possibly have seen."

Adrian rubbed the back of his head where he had hit the floor. "I need a drink."

Desmond watched as Adrian rubbed the back of his head with a concerned look. Without thinking he reached out and gently felt for any bumps on on the back of Adrian's skull. Not realizing how close their faces were he glanced up and saw the detective blush and unconsciously lick his lips.

"My apologies, if you think I'm being too forward." He said right before he leaned in and pressed his lips to Adrian's.

Adrian didn't get a chance to comprehend what was happening. When his brain finally caught back up, he was surprised to find himself kissing back instead of pushing him away. He could feel Desmond gently massaging the back of his neck as their kiss deepened. Nervously, Adrian reached up, suddenly needing to feel the vampire. He caressed Desmond's cheek before tangling his fingers in the vampire's hair; the detective felt like he was dreaming.

Desmond moaned into the kiss and deepened it, licking into Adrian's mouth. Reaching up with his other hand he placed his hand on the detective's neck and felt his pulse under his fingertips. Groaning for an entirely different reason, he realized that he had forgot to feed the night before. Reluctantly he pulled back and broke the kiss. Taking an unnecessary breath he looked over Adrian and drank in the sight of his kiss bruised lips and mussed hair.

"As much as I would love to continue, I need to feed." He said softly.

Adrian tried his best to hide his disappointment. "Oh... yea I get it, no problem."

The detective quickly stood up straightening his clothes when he heard a knock at the door. Why did he do that? He should have pushed him away...

"Excuse me." Adrian whispered as he snuck around Desmond and left the room, his head down.

His irritation showing as he opened the front door. "Do you know what ti..."

To Adrian's surprise, no one was there. Looking both ways out of the apartment the young man shrugged before shutting the door. Just as the door was about to shut, a figure kicked the door making it swing back hitting Adrian in the face. The force caused Adrian to fall backwards to the floor, holding his nose as blood poured down his chin. Dazed he didn't notice the vampire had closed the door and was about to make a meal of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and Comments are appreciated! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talks and Meetings

  
Desmond smelled blood and heard the bang of the door and rushed into the front room. A vampire he had never seen before was attacking Adrian, who was on the floor. Before the vampire could sense that he was in the room, Desmond ripped the vampire off of the detective and threw him against the wall. Snarling, he bared his teeth at the attacker and addressed Adrian.

"Are you alright?" He said as the man gingerly stood from the floor and and tried to wipe the blood from his face.

"Yeah...I'll be fine. He surprised me." The vampire began to laugh as he got up from the floor.

"It seems my plans have changed. I came to kill you but I've found something my master will like to know much more." With a wicked laugh the vampire all but disappeared out of a near by window.

"Damn it! Go eat, I got this guy." Adrian grabbed some of his things and bolted out the door. ‘Well there went any chances of that kiss continuing tonight.’ The detective glared at the shadowy figure that ran along the roof tops. With one fluid movement detective Caulton had pulled out the crossbow, reloaded, aimed, and fired at the figure. He watched with satisfaction as the silver arrow pierced the vampire’s heart. With a howl the creature fell to the ground. Taking his dagger out of his pocket, Adrian made short work of cutting off his head. Whistling, he carried the bloody thing back to his apartment, managing to mask how terrible he was feeling in the tune.

The detective tossed the head aside before locking his front door and going to the wash basin to get the blood off of his face. Splashing water onto his face he looked up into the mirror. He looked like hell; his eyes had already started to blacken and the blood didn't want to stop running out of his nose. Resting his forehead onto the mirror, Adrian closed his eyes fighting back the moisture that collected in them. "I'm having a really bad day..."  
\-------  
Desmond watched Adrian run after the vampire before he too left the apartment to go find a willing donor for the night. It didn't take him long, luckily there was always a few hanging around his pub knowing that vampire frequently came there. He selected a girl and quickly drank his fill and left her sitting in one of the rooms while she recovered. Deciding not to bother with the finances for the night, he slid behind the bar and began to fill drinks as a way to work off some of the frustration he was feeling.

'Stupid hunger, it had been a great kiss too.' The hours passed quickly and soon enough he was locking the doors for the evening and heading back to Adrian's. He walked into the apartment and found the detective sitting on the sofa with his head leaned back and a cloth over his eyes and nose. Walking over to him, he sat beside him and gently nudged him.

"How is your nose doing?" He asked with concern.

The detective turned his head slightly, opening one eye to look at Desmond. 'Is he actually concerned?'

"It hurts..."Adrian mumbled grimly.

He had literally just got it to stop bleeding, and now sat on the sofa trying to decide if he wanted to go to work or not. "Anyone say anything about the other master or anything?"

The vampire reached over and tugged the damp cloth off of Adrian's face and swallowed and concerned hiss. Seeing the detectives blackened eyes made him angry and upset that someone had hurt his friend.  
Friend? Companion? What does one call someone you find attractive and somewhat annoying at times? He mused to himself as he wiped away lingering traces of blood from Adrian's face.

"I didn't hear from anyone tonight, though I didn't think to inquire either." He said sheepishly, and had the grace to look slightly embarrassed.

"Mmm." They sat in silence for a moment, lost in their own thoughts before Adrian spoke softly. "Why do you own and run a brothel?"

That wasn't exactly the question he wanted to ask but he did really want to know. What he wanted to ask was something about him being a master vampire but his mind and body obviously don't communicate anymore since that kiss.

Desmond thought of lying to Adrian but decided against it. 'What's the harm in him knowing?'

"My business isn't actually a brothel." He said surprising Adrian, causing him to look up and wince in pain. "The girls that I employ are willing donors for vampires. They don't sell themselves and are not indebted to me. It's one of the reasons we have a lot of rowdy customers. The men see the girls take one of the vampires in my territory to the rooms and they assume it's for sex. I decided to set it up in my pub so that my people weren't feeding on unwilling humans."

Adrian leaned his head forward to look at Desmond for any sign that he was lying. When it was clear that he was telling the truth Adrian frowned.

"That.....That's brilliant." Leaning his head back against the sofa, the detective smiled. "You are bloody brilliant. What a great idea."

Adrian burst out laughing suddenly causing him to lean forward fully again. "Oh my god that explains so much. We ..hahaha...We had this drunk guy come in to Scotland yard and demanded that we go down to your bar and tell you how to run a proper brothel. HAHAHA! Apparently we should have."

Desmond couldn’t hold back the laugh, "You have no idea how many complaints I get nightly that my girls aren't providing proper services." He said with a smile.

He noticed how tired the detective was looking and felt bad for keeping him awake. "Do you want to get some sleep? There are still a few hours before sunrise, and I'm sure I can keep myself occupied."

Adrian smiled taking in a deep breath. "Yeah...I guess I should get some sleep. Wake me up when you need the bed." The detective got up from the sofa and walked into his room, he whispered barely loud enough for himself to hear. "How my mother did this everyday I'll never know."  
Shaking his head and he smiled and crawled into the bed and fell asleep.  
\-------

Desmond occupied himself by looking around Adrian's apartment. He hoped to find something that would give him insight into Adrian's past but soon gave up. He would just have to ask him about his family and the vampire who helped raise him when he rose for the night. Sighing he found a book and read until it was almost sunrise. Putting the book back he walked to the bedroom and watched Adrian sleep for a moment before sitting on the bed.

'He looks so much younger and carefree when is is sleeping. I hate to have to wake him.' He gently shook Adrian's shoulder "Adrian"  
\-------

Adrian sat on the porch with his father while watching his his mother and sister throw clothes at each other instead of actually doing laundry. He was having a great time laughing, and just being a part of the family.

"So...Emma tells me you have a boyfriend." Adrian stopped laughing and started coughing having inhaled too sharply in surprise. The master vampire laughed heartily as he patted Adrian on the back. As soon as the young man caught his breath he thought he heard Desmond voice.

"We will have to talk about this another time." His father smiled and returned his attention to the two girls. "He's calling for you."

Adrian shifted on the bed now awake, blush coloring his cheeks. "What?" Detective Caulton looked at Desmond. "Oh sorry...I'm getting up."

Groggy he slipped out of bed to sit in the chair next to it, after removing the book.

Desmond watched Adrian as he settled on to the bed. 'I hope he gets a chance to rest today he still looks exhausted.' He thought as Adrian stood and moved to his armoire to dress for the day. "Do you have a shift today?"

"I sure do." Adrian said sarcastically before turning to see Desmond's concerned look. "I'll be fine.... really. I'm off tomorrow, I'll sleep then."

Shrugging his shoulders, he smiled back at Desmond, he saw the light of the sun coming in through the window and sighed. Well that ended that conversation.

Gathering his things, the detective stuffed the head in a bag and went to work. As he entered the station he threw the bag in the Chief Inspector's office. "Happy birthday."

As he turned back and saw his employer and almost running into him. "Oh sorry ehh...I never caught your name."  
The man handed Adrian an envelope. "My name is Mr. Wissemoor."

Without another word he continued around Adrian to hand other men similar envelopes.

"Detective Caulton." Adrian groaned as he turned back around and walked into the chief’s office, shutting the door.

"Yes sir."

The chief immediately started laughing. "Yeah yeah go ahead and laugh."

Adrian sighed in defeat as the old man calmed down. "You look like you had an interest night. Care to share?" Adrian plopped down in a chair by the desk.

"He." Gesturing towards the bag. "Kicked my front door into my face and almost killed me. But all's well that ends well. He's in worse shape than me."

The old man nodded. "What's in the envelope?"

Wanting to know himself Adrian set it down on the desk and opened it. Inside was a letter and a large amount of money. As Adrian read the letter his frown deepened into a dangerous scowl.

"You have got to be kidding me..."

Raising his brow, the inspector cleared his throat. "What does it say?"

Shaking his head, the detective read the letter aloud. "Dear detective Caulton, yesterday was exceptional. The total count 30 vampires. Our highest reward going to Mr. Benton for six heads. The plan for next week is to attack the popular vampire shop, Allure. Despite it being owned and operated by humans we can not allow the creatures and their sympathizers to continue the downfall of this city.....then it says a meeting place and a time."

Adrian slammed the letter down and rubbed his temples. The old inspector simply asked, "So what are you going to do now?"

"Honestly chief, I'm tired. I’m in pain...I can't think....I’ll figure something out later."

Without another word he left the office with his money and letter. The rest of the day went by in a blur. He couldn't think and could barely function. When his shift ended he didn't say a word to anyone, he just left. Entering his apartment he locked the door and practically raced to his sofa and passed out.  
\-------

Desmond rose for the night, quickly changed and made his way out to the living room. Looking over at the sofa he saw Adrian asleep with his feet hanging off of the side. 'That can't be comfortable' he thought as he walked over. But just as he went to kneel down, Adrian opened his his eyes and stretched.

"Good evening Adrian. Did you sleep well?"

"Of course I did. When you're so tired you pass-the-fuck-out, you sleep great." Adrian smiled at Desmond as he sat up right on the sofa. "What are you doing tonight? I'm off tomorrow and I have nothing to do tonight."

It occurred to him he might have sounded clingy....ish. He really hoped Desmond either wouldn't mind or wouldn't notice.

Desmond shrugged "I don't really have any plans, I need to check in with some of my people though... after that I'm all yours." He said with a sultry voice and smirked at the blush that spread across Adrian's cheeks. He thoroughly enjoy making the detective blush.

Nervously rubbing the back of his neck, Adrian prepared himself to talk. "Do.. uhh...would you like me to come with you? I mean I'm already awake and I have nothing to do."

Remembering the conversation he was having with his father, he was very much against going back to sleep. That was a conversation he wasn't ready to have.

"Of course. It shouldn't take to long, my people meet me at one of the warehouses by the docks and it usually only takes 10 minutes." Standing up he gestured to the bedroom. "Do you need to change before we go?"

Adrian laughed looking down at himself. "Yeah I probably should."

The detective went into his room, not really paying attention to anything else but changing, and got a new change of clothes. Stripping from his old clothes, the envelope fell from his pocket onto the floor.

'oh yeah....I forgot to mention that. Ehhh I have a few days.' Shrugging away the thought, the young man's began to get dressed.

As he put on one of his older vests he noticed something in the pocket poking him. "What the hell?"

Reaching into the small pocket he pulled out a jewelry box. After inspecting it he decided he didn't have time for it and set it on the night stand.

"Ok Desmond I'm ready to go." Adrian said as he walked out of the bedroom and then the two of them left the apartment. The detective locked the door behind them.  
\-------

Desmond led them down to the docks and into one of the abandoned factories.

"There are going to about 20 vampires here tonight." He told Adrian, and when the detective looked at him questioningly "I just didn't want you to go in there blind. They won't do anything to you, like I said, this is just a rundown of what's been happening on the streets."

Adrian nodded and looked down at the ground, instantly regretting the decision to come with him. It had been a very long time since he's been around that many vampires. He was fairly certain none of them would recognize him but there was a good possibility of him recognizing them. Thay walked in silence, the detective tried not to notice Desmond glancing back at him periodically. Walking into the warehouse Adrian saw the group of vampires talking amongst themselves.

Desmond gave Adrian a reassuring smile before making himself known to the group. "Good evening everyone."

Murmurs of hellos and good evenings ran through the group and he noticed several people looked at Adrian in recognition. 'That's interesting' he pushed that thought and the questions that went with it to the back of his mind for after the meeting.

"I'll make this meeting quick so that you can all get back to your posts. Does anyone have anything strange or important to report?"

A vampire with long white hair smirked as he chuckled. "Well if you count vampires being slaughtered in their homes by the dozens during the day and frequent minor vampire attacks at night....no. Nothing unusual."

Several of the other vampires laughed but, Adrian noticed Desmond was not amused.

"Oh come now Desmond, You can't tell me Detective Caulton over there didn't mention it to you." The woman vampire who spoke shifted her weight now concerned that he didn't know.

Adrian suddenly felt like he was in trouble, much like a child that got caught lying. And to make matters worse, now EVERYONE was staring at him. As he turned to look at Desmond he practically jumped seeing the frown the vampire was giving him.

"Hey stop that! When was I supposed to tell you? I haven't been sleeping well for the past the days and I was almost killed last night. I've been a little busy."

Despite actually feeling really guilty, Adrian really didn't do it on purpose and he hoped Desmond knew that.

He gave Adrian a look, letting him know that they would talk about it later. Addressing his people he growled at them.

"And why didn't any of you come to me with this news? It is your jobs to report to me if something is happening in this city!" He yelled and everyone flinched. Taking a steadying breath he looked around at his people but didn't see anyone missing. "Who of ours did we lose?"

"We lost Mary, Gale, Thomas, Liam, Sara, and Charles from the east end." The woman said and then the white haired male chimed in.

"We also lost Michael, Julian, Marie, and Hans from the south side of the city. All of the other deaths were our invaders."

Swearing under his breath he began to pace.

"Spread the word that everyone is to take extra precautions in their homes and to make sure that they are safely hidden when they die for the day. Elizabeth, James.." He said to the two that had spoken "It's obvious that they are starting in the eastern and southern parts of the city. Get all that live in those parts out of there and have them stay elsewhere for the time being. Everyone else I want to know immediately when someone is killed is that understood?"

Everyone agreed and looked anxious to leave. "You are dismissed."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Questions game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See end notes for chapter warnings

Everyone quickly departed leaving only Desmond and Adrian.

"In everyone's defense, this did all happen in the last two days..."Adrian kicked the ground nervously.

This was turning out to be just as bad a night as the night before. "I have a letter from them that you need to read too. I was right, they pay really well."

The detective trailed off, unable to think of what else to say.

Desmond sighed in frustration. "I'm more angry with my people then I am with you. They answer to me and are suppose to report to me if anything happens. While I am upset that you didn't tell me, you are not required to disclose everything to me. And I know how exhausted you have been."

He was beginning to feel his hunger mixing with his frustration. "I need to go to my pub and feed."

"Ok....I guess I'll see you later then." Adrian ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm just gonna head home."

With a defeated sigh, the detective turned to head back. 'I feel terrible....I didn't do it on purpose, but I have to admit it really looks like I did. I just wanted one day or night to not feel like I'm going through the motions; trying to stay out of everything. Maybe jumping into EVERYTHING at one time was a stupid idea.'

Desmond watched Adrian turn with a sad dejected look.

"Adrian," He called as the detective reached the door.

"Come with me. You can get a drink while I'm feeding and then we can talk." Desmond said with a small smile. He had hoped that he conveyed that he wasn't angry with the man.

Adrian chuckled a little. "I'm not gonna lie, I really could use a drink."

With a half hearted smile he waited for Desmond at the door and they both walked to the vampire's pub. Once there Desmond said something to the girl behind the counter before leaving the main room. She smiled at Adrian and poured him a whisky, his favourite brand.

"Ha my favourite! How did you know?!" The girl smirked at him. He found her expression odd; like she knew something he didn't. Apparently he was giving her a confused look because she tried to explain.

"We heard about you telling those guys to lay off of us. Did you know we haven't had a single problem since then? I asked around for your favorite drink to say thank you." Adrian smiled, feeling his cheeks warming up.

"No problem ma'am." Adrian drank his whisky as he waited for Desmond, wondering what he could do to make it up to the vampire.

Desmond quickly find a suitable donor and took them to a room to feed. After he drank his fill he went back into the main room and watched Adrian as he drank at the bar. 'I hope he still doesn't think I'm angry with him. He seems like the self destructive type, so I should probably prove it to him.' Smiling, he formed a plan and walked over to Adrian and stood behind him.

Leaning down, he whispered in his ear "Are you ready to get out of here?"

Adrian jumped, almost falling off the stool. He turned around and saw Desmond behind him grinning ear to ear. Adrian greeted him excitedly.

"Desmond try this! It's my favourite brand of whiskey. Your barkeep got it for me to say thank you for telling those drunkards if they messed with the girls here I'd kill them." Adrian looked proud as he continued. "I didn't know you're pub carried it. They only make this whiskey in my home town. It even tastes like home."

He held out what was left of his glass to Desmond and realized he was being a dick again. "Im sorry...."

"It's alright, honestly." He said smiling at Adrian with sincerity. "I'm glad that it made you happy and I may not be able to taste it but I can still smell it."

Taking the glass from Adrian's hand he sniffed the contents. "Mmm that smells wonderful, maybe some day I'll be able to taste things again. Shall we go then?" He handed the glass back and watched as Adrian finished off the remaining liquid.

Adrian blushed and nodded, setting his glass on the bar. Waving goodbye to the girl behind the bar he left with Desmond. Luckily they didn't run into anyone on the way to the apartment.

The detective sat down on the sofa and looked at Desmond, now thinking about his home town. "Where are you from Desmond? You didn't get that accent here."

Desmond sat down next to Adrian and gave a small chuckle. "I’ll make a deal with you, for every question I answer of yours, you have to answer one of mine. If I ask something that you aren't comfortable answering just say the word and the deal is off. Sound good? " Adrian nodded he leaned back and made himself comfortable. "I was born in a small village in the Munster Province of Ireland in the year 1602." he said in a wistful tone. "What about you? Where are you from?"

"Oh uh... I'm from outside of Helmsley in northern Yorkshire. The farms outside of town grew barley mostly. Perfect for whiskey. I grew up in one of those farms. And I'm 24, you can do the math." Adrian narrowed his eyes as he thought. He had to ask something good.....but What? "What did you do...when you were human? Like did you have a job?"

"My family was poor, my parents were tenant farmers to the lord who owned the land our village was on. When I was a child I worked the fields with my parents and other villages. When I came of age, the lord brought me into his castle as a servant. I eventually rose to personal attendant for the lord before I was turned at 27." He spoke with little emotion, he disliked speaking about his time before he was turned but he made a deal. And he was going to use this opportunity to find out about the vampire who raised the detective. "Alright your turn, what was the name of the vampire who helped raise you?"

Adrian was shocked and thought about ending this "agreement", but then he smiled and shook his head.

"His name was Victor Blaque." Desmond gave him a look of disbelief. "Yeah I know. One of the most vicious and oldest vampires with a rep that would make any human shudder in fear....Yeah....he's my dad. Apparently, when he met my mom he decided to chill out. I never even heard about his...past, until I left. I literally almost died from fighting one vampire when I was younger, while he was alive, because my family ‘ruined a great vampire.’ But you already know he was master of upper England for almost 500 years."

Adrian started laughing at a memory. "I used to harass him when he'd say that. 'Yeah yeah dad. That's only ‘cause no one wants to rule over farmland.'"

Adrian let out a long sigh and shook his head. "He always laughed. Little did I know he had almost everyone scared shitless....we had a long, serious conversation about taking over London once. He basically said it wasn't worth the trouble. How did you manage to get it and keep it so long? Especially where you started from."

Desmond laughed, he couldn't help himself. "Nobody wanted London. I was able to take it because the city was unclaimed. The vampires that occupied the city were ruthless killers; they killed without thought, and those who would not submit to me I killed. It took a long time to get the city to where it is, and when other masters realized that I had fixed the problems here they began to challenge me for it. I have been challenged at least six times, and each time they have lost. I am powerful and those who try to take my city from me never realize how powerful I really am."

He looked at Adrian and could see the shock on his face. Chuckling he shifted so that his legs rested over the tops of Adrians. "I guess you didn't think so many would want the city huh? Any way, what happened that you hate vampires so much? It's pretty strange considering you were raised by one."

"Yeah...It sounds kinda weird but..."Adrian really wasn’t sure what to say. This part, this memory he never wanted to share with anyone. But he did feel a little guilty for keeping information from him earlier. He had to at least try.

"I suck at judging a vampire's power or character. Obviously, I treated my dad the same as you and you both could probably kill me with your pinky finger without much trouble from me.

Well my best friend growing up was a vampire and he belonged to a family of vampires that had been loyal to my father for forever." The detective gnawed at his bottom lip as he rested his hands on Desmond legs. "He had this thing for my little sister. She never like him. When I was younger it was funny, then as I got older it got weird. He kept trying to get me to talk her into being his Drága vére, which she would refuse to even talk to me about. Well about five years ago he started talking about becoming an all encompassing king of vampires and killing all of the vampire masters. I remember getting into a fight with him...and then I remember he said something bad about my family and it really hurt my feelings... I was walking away...He said he was sorry and to look at him." Adrian stopped talking. He just couldn't say any more, no matter how hard he tried. What happened instead was his eyes began to cloud over with moisture.

Desmond moved his legs and scooted closer to Adrian. He could see how upset the detective was getting, and he could guess that his former friend had bespelled him. Draping his arm over Adrian's shoulder, he tried to comfort the emotional detective.

"He used you, I can understand why you would be weary of vampires." But when Adrian choked out a soft sob, he knew that there was more. " Adrian, what happened? What did he make you do?"

Adrian found himself leaning into Desmond's comforting gesture. Managing to get a little control over himself, the detective became more frustrated then upset.

"Damn it. You'd think after five years this would be easier...our less painful. It's neither." Shaking his head, the young man sighed. "I'm sorry Desmond, I just...I can't...I can't even say it. Can we just come back to it later? Was that answer good enough?"

Although still a little red, his eyes revealed that he had calmed down as he looked at Desmond.

"Of course," He replied. "We can resume our question deal at a later time. And don't be sorry about not being able to talk about it, there are things that happened in my past that happened over 200 years ago that are still hard for me to talk about."

"So much for 'time heals all wounds."' The detective chuckled bitterly. "Thank you for understanding. Ill figure it out eventually, I hope anyway."

Adrian took a deep calming breath as he sank further into Desmond's side. The vampire’s scent was calming and intoxicating. Adrian wondered how he didn't notice how much he loved it until now. The smell of tobacco from the pub mixed with Desmond's own musky scent was incredibly alluring. He wondered how long the vampire would let him sit there like that?

Desmond hummed in contentment as Adrian snuggled closer to his side. He soaked in the other man’s body heat 'This is nice, I really don't want him to move.' He thought as he turned his head and looked at the side of Adrian's face. His eyes traveled across the detective's profile and lingered on his worry bitten lips. Taking a chance, Desmond leaned over and softly kissed him, hoping he wouldn't pull away.

Adrian was very surprised by Desmond's kiss. So surprised that he jumped a little bit. He had fully convinced himself, after earlier and last night’s whole debacle, that even if Desmond had been attracted to him, he fucked it all up. The fact that the Master vampire was kissing him now, blew his mind. The detective was not going to let this opportunity slip away this time. Turning a little so that he could run his hand over Desmond's shoulder to gently rest on the base of his neck, the young man deepened the kiss.

Desmond smiled into the kiss when the detective deepened it. He let Adrian control it and reached up and cupped the back of the detective’s head carding his fingers through the blonde hair. When Adrian's tongue breached his mouth he moaned and quickly shifted so that he was facing the other man.

As Desmond shifted, Adrian decided to move again. With a gentle push of his arm, Adrian laid Desmond back on the sofa. Without breaking their kiss, the blonde straddled the vampires hips. moaning when Desmond adjusted beneath him. Breaking the kiss, the young man began to kiss down Desmond's jaw line.  
Desmond continued to card his fingers through the detectives hair as Adrian moved across his jaw. He shifted his hips and rubbed his growing erection against the man above him and groaned at the friction. Adrian sat back and stared down at Desmond, his pupils blown wide with lust.

"You look like you want to eat me detective " Desmond said huskily.

"Heh, you are delicious."

Adrian's kiss bruised lips curled into a mischievous smirk. Leaning down to whisper to the vampire, the blonde licked the outer shell of his ear."I wonder what the rest of you tastes like."

To emphasize his point Adrian ground his clothed erection into Desmond's, causing both of them to moan together. The blond left kisses along the vampire's neck as he unbuttoned his lover's shirt. Desmond shivered slightly and ground his hips up as his shirt fell open and Adrian began kissing and sucking on his chest. He sat up and let his shirt fall down his arms, and threw it across the room. Taking advantage of the current position he tugged Adrian's shirt over his head just before he was pushed back down into the couch.

"Mmm assertive, I like it." He said smirking but was quickly silenced as Adrian began undoing the buttons on his pants.

Having freed Desmond's impressive erection, Adrian pulled the vampires pants down a little to make it easier for what he had planned. Licking his lips in anticipation, the blonde kissed the tip of the master vampires member, causing him to make an erotic sound. Taking that as a go ahead, Adrian licked him from base to tip before taking him slowly into his mouth. The detective massaged Desmond's inner thighs as he took the rest of his member into his mouth.

Desmond couldn't stop the animalistic sounds and moans that were spilling from his mouth. The feeling of Adrian's warm mouth on his throbbing length added with pressure from his tongue was almost too much. He reached down and placed his hands back on Adrian's head and clenched his fingers in the blonde tresses.

"Adrian" he managed to gasp out, "I'm not going to last much longer."

Adrian could only moan at Desmond words. Between the vampire's sensuous taste, intoxicating scent and the erotic sounds he was making, the detective was so aroused it almost hurt. His discomfort was completely forgotten when the need to make the vampire cum for him took over. With one final bob of his head, he engulfed Desmond's entire length as he came.

Desmond came with a shout and moaned when Adrian didn't pull off but instead swallowed his cum down.

"That was amazing" he said, his voice thick with post orgasmic bliss "let me return the favor."

Adrian released his now softening length and smiled at him, and just as he was about to speak Desmond used his strength and speed to switch their positions. As he began undoing the buttons on Adrian's pants he kissed the detective deeply, tasting himself on Adrian's tongue. Adrian moaned into the kiss.

Desmond broke the kiss and began kissing his chest, the blonde practically growled as he entangled his fingers in the vampire's hair. "You don't need to torture me....aaah...I already want you."

The detective could feel Desmond smirk as he kissed his chest one last time before moving down. The next thing he felt was the master vampires warm, wet mouth enveloping his throbbing member. Adrian couldn't help but shout in pleasure as he arched off the sofa. He never thought he could feel this good and he knew Desmond was just beginning.

Desmond sucked and bobbed his head along Adrian's length. He enjoyed the sounds that the detective made and was determined to hear all of them.

So when Adrian moved his hand to stifle his moans Desmond pulled off and growled. "I want to hear every sound you make for me, don't muffle them."

Leaning back down he licked the precum off the head of Adrian's member "Mmm you taste delicious." He said right before he swallowed him down to the base.

That one fluid movement from Desmond sent Adrian over the edge without warning. He screamed Desmond's name as he came hard into his mouth. Riding the waves of pleasure, as the vampire licked him clean.

"Wow..." The detective mumbled as he rubbed the back of Desmond's neck. "You are incredible."

Desmond smiled and kissed Adrian's hip, "Thank you. You are pretty amazing yourself." Propping himself up on his elbow he looked at Adrian

"I rather like the way you look spread out underneath me." He said as he slid up so that they were face to face. "But I think perhaps we should move this basking to your bedroom. Your bed is much more spacious than the sofa."

Adrian wrapped his arms around Desmond's neck and kissed him. "I guess your right."

Sitting up, the blonde was thankful that the vampire moved off of the sofa first as he swing his legs over the edge. He lead his lover into the bedroom when the envelope caught his attention. Picking it up, Adrian took the money and the letter or of it before sitting on the bed next to Desmond, who was laying comfortably on his back.

"I want you to read this. We need to do something about it, but you’ve got time to figure it out." The detective raised the pile of money for Desmond to see. "If I get this much every day for the next week, I'll be able to get that house with a cellar you were talking about." Adrian smiled charmingly.

Desmond read through the letter and frowned down at the paper.

"So they are going to hurt other humans as well? I will never understand the hate that drives some people." Looking at the wad of notes in Adrian's had, he couldn't help but smile.

"Would you like to have your own house?"

Adrian shrugged his shoulders. "Who doesn't want their own house? Besides I'm really not a big fan of this place. It was just to get me by." The blonde set the money down on his nightstand and laid next to Desmond with his head on the vampire's chest.

"I'm really pissed off about the letter....but there isn't much I can do right now. We need to not be seen together at all anymore. Especially since I'm sure you plan on stopping them. I'd like to not be tarred and feathered or whatever form of public torture they feel like doing."

Desmond sighed, he understood the need for discretion. He didn't want anything to happen to Adrian because of him.

"Well I suppose we will have to limit our interactions to in here." He said as he ran his fingers through Adrian's hair. "And don't worry about the businesses, I know the owners of Allure, I'll let them know of the danger and will assign some of my people to watch over them during the evenings."

Adrian closed his eyes as Desmond ran slender fingers through his blonde hair.

"You're going to put me to sleep doing that..." The detective murmured as he relaxed into the gentle touch. Desmond's chest vibrated as he laughed at Adrian who was already fast asleep.

Desmond continued to lay there and listened to Adrian's breathing, enjoying the man's body heat. 'This is nice' he thought as he closed his eyes. Vampires couldn't sleep but sometimes it was nice to pretend. 'I'll have to remember to wake him up in a few hours. I don't want to scar him for life by having him wake up with a corpse." Smiling he settled in and laid there comfortably until just before dawn when he woke the sleeping man.

Adrian woke up just in time to kiss Desmond good morning and sit up in bed before the sun shone through the window. He got dressed and left for work in a great mood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings  
> -blow jobs


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the late update. Life for me the past couple of days has been hectic, hopefully I will be able to get the next chapter up a lot quicker for all of you.

Detective Caulton walked home from his late shift at Scotland yard counting his money with a large grin. It had been at least three weeks since the shop incident that had the young man still laughing. Fifteen of the hired vampire hunters, ones Adrian wasn’t particularly fond of, walked right into an ambush. To make it even better, some idiot admitted to losing his letter at a pub in town; no one had suspected a thing.

Unfortunately, Desmond's men who were looking for the challenging Master had been missing for two weeks. Adrian was starting to get worried because Desmond was getting worried. Not to mention the young blond kept having the same recurring nightmares for the past week. But right this second? Detective Caulton couldn't be more pleased; he had enough money to get a nice house now. Arriving at the apartment, Adrian unlocked the door and walked inside. Knowing that Desmond was awake but might not be there, he called out from the foyer.

"I'm home."

"In here" Desmond yelled from Adrian's small washroom, that was little more than a closet. Sticking his head out of the door he watched Adrian saunter down the hall towards with a huge smile on his face.

"I take it you had a good day?" He said smiling.

Adrian hummed and held up a large wad of money to show him. Chuckling Desmond turned back to the mirror and continued to wash his face.

"How much did you get tonight?"

"Enough to get that huge creepy house in the northern part of town that I've been wanting since I moved here." Adrian leaned on the door frame watching Desmond closely.

"So....I had that bad dream again....I think it's time to continue our deal. I either need to get it off my chest or I'm having these nightmares cause he's close by. The only way to know is to talk." Despite the topic of conversation, Adrian's mood remained happy as watched the vampire finish washing.

Desmond watched Adrian in the mirror and nodded at him. "If that is what you want then of course we can continue. And if you like, you can ask me a question first." He dried his face and turned around and sped closer to Adrian. "You really want to buy that old house?" He said switching topics "because if you do, I happen to know the owner."

Adrian smiled even wider. "Do you really? Yes I want that house!" After quick kiss, Adrian led him into the kitchen where he poured a glass of whiskey, that

Desmond had bought him a while ago. "Ok, so I get to ask you something first?" Desmond nodded as the detective thought. A blush dusted his cheeks as he spoke. "So I know this isn't about your past or anything but....are you happy here? With me?"

Desmond watched Adrian with a soft smile, enjoying the blush that spread across the younger man's cheeks.

"You might find this hard to believe, but I really do enjoy my time here with you." He said cheekily as he stepped closer to Adrian and kissed him gently, tasting the expensive liquor on his lips. Unsure whether he should ask the important question first, he opted to something lighter to ease into the subject.

"What made you want to be a detective?"

Adrian smiled, still blushing as he cleared his throat to answer.

"Oh....well....My family, my sister especially, wanted me to be a detective. I thought that after what happened....it was the best way to make them proud; to apologize." The blonde took a drink and then sat down at the kitchen table.

"I can’t picture any vampire having any regrets besides not killing something. My dad never regretted anything, at least to my knowledge. What's bothered you for so long?"

Desmond sat down next to Adrian and contemplated how to tell his story. Sighing he looked at Adrian and figured he might as well just get it all out.

"When I was 27, I worked as a personal attendant to the Lord in his castle. My Sire had travelled there as a companion with another lord and had taken a liking to me. For some reason, I never asked why and to be honest I didn’t really want to know, he turned me and when I woke for the first time I was ravenous. My sleeping quarters were close to the lord's chambers and his twin sons chambers." He took a steadying breath and looked at Adrian with sadness in his eyes. "A newly turned vampire has little to no control over their hunger, the only thing they care about is feeding and quenching their thirst.”

He explained softly finding it hard to continue looking at Adrian. “When I rose for the first time, I followed the scent of blood into the boys chambers and I...I slaughtered them."

He closed his eyes and could still see the blood splattered walls and the lifeless corpses of the small boys he had helped raise since birth. "I loved and cared for those boys like they were my brothers and I slaughtered them.”

He took and shuddering breath before he continued.” When I came to and saw what I had done I tried to run. Unfortunately my lord had heard the screams and came running to their room, what parent wouldn’t? I was still in a blood frenzy and not in control of myself, I ended up ripping his throat out and drinking my fill before the thirst abated. I knew that the guards would be on their way and that they would kill me, so I ran from the castle and haven't returned to my home village since. It's because of what happened that night that I've managed to become so powerful. I have worked hard to learn control and I refuse to let my basic instincts rule me."

He sat back and watched the slew of emotions cross Adrian's face. "Those deaths, those boys, have haunted me all my life, and I refuse to lose control again."  
With a sad smile he reached over and took Adrian's hand and laced their fingers together. I hope this doesn't change the way you feel about me. Do you think you can tell me what happened when Raul bespelled you?"

Adrian took a deep breath. "Yes, but first..." Using his other hand, he brushed a lock of Desmond's hair from his face and kissed him softly. "Thank you for telling me, I know how hard it is." Leaning back on the chair he looked down at their entwined hands.

"When I turned around and looked into his eyes..." Adrian shuddered remembering the feeling. "He took over me completely and used that as an opportunity to enact his plan. He ordered me to get my sister and I couldn't stop myself, my body was following his orders against my will. Even though he was controlling me I knew everything that was happening. I remember going into her room while she was sleeping and picking her up. I took her to the middle of our family's field where Raul and several other vampires were and by that point she had woken up. She yelled at me to put her down or she'd kick my ass."

Adrian couldn't help but choke out a small laugh. "Then she realized it wasn't me, it was him...Raul asked her to join him and be his forever. Emma spat at him and chewed him out; insisting he let us go, but it didn’t matter. I don't think he cared either way to tell you the truth. He went on to say that if our family wasn’t with him then we were against him; we were his enemies and enemies must be destroyed. He...He told me to kill her. There was nothing I could do. She was so scared."

Tears flowed down Adrian's cheeks as he spoke. "She tried to get me to fight it, to fight him. To get him out of my head but, I couldn’t wrap my head around what was happening. Everything was going so fast. I just couldn't believe he would do that to me, to her. After I...after she died he released me to suffer with what I had done while he and the other vampires attacked my home. They set the house and the field on fire. I heard my mother screaming in the distance but I just sat there holding Emma. I didn't do anything to help. I'm a detective so I can make up for not helping. I should have died fighting like my family, instead I just sat there in my grief and self loathing."

The detective's voice shook with anger and deep sadness. "I guess I know how you feel Desmond, but you’re right, I need to learn from this, not hide from it, like you've done. I never want that to happen again...not that I have anyone anymore." He mumbled the last part as he leaned his head into Desmond's shoulder.

Desmond held Adrian close and tried to comfort him as best he could.

"You have me." He whispered against Adrian's hair "I'll be here for as long as you'll have me. Thank you for telling me, I know how hard it was for you."

He pulled away from Adrian so he could look at him, "I know how guilty you feel, but I need you to know that your sister's death was not your fault, and if you would like to I can help teach you to build mental walls that will help you fight against being bespelled."

Adrian nodded in reply, trying to get his voice to work. "That would be great...The vampire that turned you...have you ever seen him again? Were you angry with him?"

"I was extremely angry with him but he was the one who taught me control. Once I learned how to control myself I left his territory and traveled. It wasn't until years later when I had come into my powers that I went back and is nothing I can do to change the past. He was actually the one who suggested I take over London." Smiling he brushed a piece of hair back from Adrian's face. "So do you feel any better?"

"Yes I do." Adrian's stomach grumbled causing him to blush as he got up to get food. "Have you...eaten or whatever you call it, yet? Has anyone told you about your men now that I'm thinking about it."

Adrian began to make himself a sandwich as he talked to him. Desmond leaned back and watched Adrian move around his small kitchen, preparing his meal. "Yes I have people scouting the territory lines hoping to see them, but so far there hasn't been any word or sign of Jacob and the others."

He was worried about his people, and hoped that they hadn't been harmed. " As to your other question, no I haven't fed yet this evening because I wanted to ask you something."

Adrian really didn't like the sound of that. Something was going on, he could just feel it. Sitting next to Desmond with a plate in his hands, he barely registered what Desmond was saying. He was really hungry. After eating a few bites and gobbling down part of his sandwich, he finally responded. "Did you want me to go

with you to the pub?"

Desmond chuckled at Adrian's apprehension "No and I promise nothing is wrong." He smiled as Adrian visibly relaxed.  
"I um...I wanted to ask you..um" Started off nervously 'get a grip Desmond! What's the worst that could happen?' Clearing his throat he sucked in a breath, determined to get it out. "I was wondering if you would like to be my Drága vére?"

Adrian wasn't positive but, he was pretty sure he was red as a tomato. All he could think about was his mom and dad. Was Desmond really asking him to stay with him? Forever? "You really want me to be your Drága Vére?"

The detective studied Desmond's face as he nodded, but was unable to read his expression. Part of him, a small part, was still worried, still hurt. Adrian tried to live his life going with his intuition and what his family would want him to do. The truth was he was always going to be hurt, but he wasn't going to let that ruin his chance at doing something right. "Yes, I would like to."

Desmond smiled and leaned over and captured Adrian's lips in a passionate kiss. When he pulled back his eyes gleamed with happiness.

"I was hoping you would say yes. When would you like to perform the bond?" He asked excitedly.

Adrian laughed at Desmond excited words. Yep that was the right choice. After finishing the sandwich, the detective stood up to put his plate away and gave Desmond a light kiss on his lips.

"Whenever you want. I'm free tonight or I can always make time another day if you want to wait." This is a very good day and a great night so far.

Desmond smiled and stood "We can start tonight. It might be a little overwhelming for you if I put all four marks on you at once." Adrian nodded and smiled back at him "Good, let's go into the living room or if you'd like we can do this in your bedroom."  
Adrian thought about it for a moment and then smirked. "Well...the bed is comfier....and it has a lot more room to move around."

Desmond stood up heading for the bedroom. The detective was not positive but he was pretty sure Desmond rolled his eyes at him. Still smirking, although nervous, they entered the bedroom.

"I have no idea what is going to happen or what I need to do." Adrian admitted shyly, pink dusting his cheeks.

"Don't worry, you don't have to do much of anything. Just give your consent and allow me to place the marks on you." He smiled at Adrian and guided him to sit on the bed and then stood between his legs.

"Now relax" he said as he placed his hands on Adrian's shoulders. "I'm going to give you the first two marks, and you are going to need to look into my eyes for this, but I swear I am not going to bespell you. You will feel my presence in you head, that's the first mark being placed and with the second you will see little flames."

Adrian nodded silently, looking at Desmond. He was really nervous but determined to go through with this.

"Is this going to hurt?" The detective sounded curious not afraid, causing Desmond to smile at him.

“No not at all. You will feel me in your head but it won't hurt." Desmond looked down at Adrian and gently cupped his jaw, tilting the detective's head up to look at him.

"I'm going to give you the first mark now." He said quietly, reaching out to Adrian's mind with his powers.

Adrian looked into Desmond's eyes for the first time. He could feel him inside his mind, much like he had felt Raul years before. This time was different though, possibly because this time he wanted Desmond to be there. A feeling of calm washed over him like his loneliness was evaporating away and being replaced by Desmond's presence. The detective not only mentally relaxed but his muscles in his shoulders loosened too. Causing them to slump slightly under Desmond's fingers. Desmond could feel Adrian relax under his touch and he gently placed the first mark on Adrian and withdrew from the man's mind.

"How are you feeling?" He asked softly, as he ran his fingers down Adrian's jaw and neck.

"I feel fine." Adrian smiled and leaned slightly into Desmond's touch. "So what does that mark do exactly?"

Desmond continued to caress Adrian's neck as he answered. "With the mark I just placed on you, you will be able to heal significantly faster. And you now have a sort of immunity to being bespelled by other vampires."

He could see the happiness in Adrian's face at the prospect of never having to worry about bespellment. "If you feel up to it, I would like to place the second mark on you. With the second one you will see little flames, don't worry they won't hurt you."

"Heh that sounds ridiculous." Adrian chuckled. "Yeah I'm fine, go ahead."

The young man couldn't take his mind off of how relieved he was. Never again? He’s safe...or mostly safe it sounds like. So there is still a possibility? No. Never again. He liked the sound of that.

Desmond watched Adrian for any sign of apprehension, and when he didn't find any he went ahead and placed the second mark on Adrian. He concentrated his powers and forced them into manifesting. Between the two of them little flames appeared at Adrian's eye level but instead of the normal color of fire they were green. Adrian seemed mesmerized by them and then as quickly as they appeared, they were gone.

"What was that? I thought you were meaning like normal fire? That was weird." Adrian tilted his head in confusion as he looked at Desmond.

Desmond couldn't help but look slightly embarrassed. "Oh um sorry about that. Most of the time the fire will take on characteristics of the Master. I guess because I have green eyes the fire choose to be green."

Adrian couldn't help the smile and blush that spread across his face as he looked into the vampire eyes. He swore to himself five years ago that he would never look into another's eyes and he kept that promise. Desmond's eyes were the first he'd seen, human or vampire, in all that time and they were breathtaking. Powerful, exquisite, and tender, much like Desmond was himself.

"So what does that one do?"

He grinned sheepishly at Adrian and moved from between his legs and sat down next to him on the bed.

"The second mark allows me to taste the food and share in the experience when you eat. It also connects us, so that if for some reason I am not be able to feed, I can draw energy from what you eat. It can come in handy." He said with a wink.

"So you can taste food only when I'm eating it right?"

Adrian made a mental note to ask Desmond's again how he liked his whiskey but right at this particular moment he had other plans. Plans that involved him becoming closer to the owner of those enticing green eyes. Adrian pulled Desmond into a passionate kiss as he pushed him back in the bed, climbing on top of him. The drastic movement caused Adrian to break the kiss as not to hurt either of them.

Smiling down at the vampire, the blond spoke in a seductive tone. "We can do the other two after we move into that house. We have really nosy neighbors. If you know the owner I'm sure we can move in to it soon."

Adrian kissed down Desmond's neck. "I hope you don't have plans in the immediate future...you're going to be busy."


	8. Chapter 8

Desmond couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled up in his chest. Smiling at Adrian's confused face he decided to let Adrian know about the owner of the large old house. He couldn’t wait to see the look on the detective’s face when he told him who the actual owner was. This was going to be perfect. "Adrian, I own that old house. We can move in there tomorrow night if you would like.”

He murmured as he reached up and started pulling at Adrian's shirt as he thrust his hips upwards. “Now what were you saying about being busy?"

He moaned at the friction before helping Desmond remove his shirt. With Adrian's shirt now thrown somewhere, he made quick work of the buttons on Desmond’s shirt. Now fully open, Adrian began to kiss down his chest and abdomen. Reaching between them, the detective stroked Desmond's clothed erection before unbuttoning the first button. Suddenly the sound of knocking startled both men. Adrian groaned loudly and laid down on Desmond dramatically. "Really?!"

When the knocking persisted the detective pushed up off the bed and stood up so Desmond could get up too. "Fine fine fine."

Desmond got up from the bed and began looking around the room for Adrian's shirt. "I'm assuming that you weren't expecting anyone? Ha there it is!"

"No, I’m not." The detective grumble, it has to be a curse with this apartment.

Desmond threw the shirt at Adrian and then followed him down the hall as the young man pulled it on over his head. He enjoyed the way the muscles stretched in Adrian's back, and was slightly saddened when the shirt covered them. "I suppose you should open the door, considering they haven't stopped knocking."

Adrian snatched the crossbow off of its placement on the wall by the door and held it behind his back as he opened the door. "You! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you where you stand."

"I'm here to speak with you and Desmond. I have a message." The woman in red lifted her head to look at Adrian; who didn't seen to be impressed or interested. "I know he's in there I can smell him on you. Let me in I'm no threat to you; what do you have to lose?"

Detective Caulton chuckled cruelly as he turned to look at Desmond. "Do you want me to kill her?"

Desmond glared at Gabriella as he responded to Adrian. "Let her in, I believe she has information for me. If she tries anything I will kill her."

He made sure his voice was loud enough that she heard him. He continued to watch her as Adrian opened the door further to allow her entrance and pointing to the living room, giving her no choice to go anywhere else. Gabriella walked into the living room and sat down on one of the chairs across from the sofa. Adrian followed both of them and leaned against the wall, not trusting to sit down with her in the room. The vampire leaned back in her seat giving the detective the impression that she was elated.

"What is so important?" Desmond demanded.

"He has your men Desmond." Her voice was full of amusement. "He said that if you want them to come and get them, or what's left of them. Hahaha!"  
Adrian didn't like this; something about this whole situation was off. Taking in a deep breath he noticed a smell that hung in the air, the smell of barley fields and clear air; it’s what his hometown smelled like.

"It's him, it’s Raul. Bloody hell..." He shot an alarmed look at Desmond that seemed to tell the vampire everything.

"He wants you to know your place, love.” Gabriella smiled coyly a the vampire before turning her attention to Adrian. ‘But I will admit I was a little jealous of his reaction when I told him you were here detective; with Desmond."

Desmond used his speed to his advantage, grabbing Gabriella by the neck, he forced her from the chair. He growled and tightened his grip on her throat, his nails drawing blood. He snarled as he threw Gabriella towards the door, "He will not get Adrian! I will rip his throat out before that happens. You tell your Master that I will be coming to challenge him and that if he harms Adrian or my people I will make his death as slow and painful as I possibly can. Now get out before I change my mind about letting you leave here alive."

Gabriella didn't hesitate to leave seeing the hatred and anger in Desmond's eyes. Adrian could do nothing but watch, while Desmond basically threw Gabriella out of the apartment, with adoration. After she scrambled out of the apartment Adrian turned to Desmond breathing out a long sigh.

"We have to go get them, but we can't go tonight. Raul likes to play games with people. He'll wait for us but the longer we take...Tomorrow I can charter a carriage to take us to my hometown. I can also hire guys to move my belongings over to your house, but there isn't much we can do tonight. I want to help you Desmond. I want that bastard wiped off the face of the earth and I want to help you get your men back. Please let me." Adrian gently caressed the side of Desmond's face before softly kissing him. "Tomorrow night we can finish what we started before we leave."

Desmond wrapped his arms around Adrian and held him tightly, whispering softly into Adrian’s hair. "I will not let him hurt you or my men Adrian, I promise...If you would like I can have some of my men go in and clean the house. No one has lived in it for a long time, I'm sure it's dusty and could use a good cleaning. As for the finishing with marks, how long will it take us to get to your old home?"

"It took me almost four weeks to hitchhike and walk to London but I don't really remember a lot of it. I'm sure we can get there in about two weeks, maybe less if we go straight there." Adrian leaned against Desmond's chest. "It sounds like we have a lot of shit to do."

He tried not to sound disappointed but he couldn't help it. One minute he was happy and relaxed, but that minute just had to end so drastically. Now he was making plans to go back to a place he swore he'd never return to. He was going back to look into the face of a monster that has haunted his nightmares for the last five years. Could he really do this?

"I need a drink....I swear I'm turning into a drunkard." The detective muttered as he left Desmond's comforting arms, and headed for the kitchen.

"There is a lot to do," Desmond said as he followed Adrian into the kitchen. "But I know we can handle it. And I don't think you will turn into a drunkard."

Adrian didn’t really hear the vampire as he grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the top shelf. Thoughts of his past kept resurfacing as he poured himself a glass. He was so wrapped up in being miles away that he was surprised to feel Desmond sneak behind him.

"You know I will be able to taste that now." He whispered seductively and he placed his hands on the younger man's hips.

Adrian shuddered at the feeling of Desmond's strong hands on him. "How does that work exactly?"

Raising the glass to his lips, he had to admit feeling the Master vampire so close behind him was extremely arousing. As he sipped the whiskey, Adrian relished the taste as well as Desmond's presence. All of his worries were being washed away. Even if it were slower than he’d like.

"Mmmm" Desmond moaned quietly at the taste of the whisky as it slid across Adrian's tongue. "The magic of the marks allows me to taste what you taste. Mind you, I need to be with you when you are eating in order for it to work...Mmmm I never drank anything like this when I was alive."

He smiled as Adrian took another sip and he relished in the taste. Desmond plucked the glass from Adrian's hand and set it down. Turning him, he kissed Adrian deeply. Moaning softly into the kiss, Adrian wrapped his arms around Desmond's neck drawing him near. The detective caught himself leaning against the counter, back arched, in an attempt to be closer to the vampire. The young man felt like he had been playing a game of cat and mouse all night and now that he had Desmond again he wasn't letting go. Breaking the kiss Adrian whispered, brushing his lips against Desmond's.

"Really? You've never had English whiskey?" The blond licked his lips. "It doesn't compare to this. Your kiss tastes much better."

"Why detective are you trying to seduce me?" He murmured against Adrian's lips right before he captured them again in a deep kiss.

With their closeness he could feel Adrian's growing length against him. Reluctantly he pulled away and looked embarrassedly at the detective. He reached down and pressed against Adrian's bulge with the palm of his hand. Adrian moaned low in his throat at the added pressure to his already too tight pants.

"Unfortunately I won't be able to participate much unless I feed." He muttered, darkly.

"Well hurry up. We have things to do tonight." The detective demanded before watching Desmond take a step back and turn to leave.

Adrian quickly grabbed the vampires collar. "Oh no Desmond, I can't wait that long. Can you?"

He tilted his head to the side, revealing his neck as he leaned forward slightly. His lips formed into a seductive smirk while his eyes burned with lust. Desmond felt his teeth lengthen and ache at the potential meal, he looked at Adrian and couldn't help the wave of emotion he felt for the man.

"If you are sure, then I'll give you the third mark, just not here in the kitchen."

He pulled Adrian's hand and quickly led him back to the bedroom. As soon as the door was shut he pulled at Adrian's shirt and ripped it over his head. He lightly pushed the younger man towards the bed, making him lay on it. He said huskily, as he straddled Adrian's hips and leaned down to bite at the detectives exposed neck. "I'll try my best to make this pleasurable for you."

He didn’t know what to expect at first as desmond bit down. Adrian choked back a scream as the fangs punctured into the skin on his neck. Fighting the instinct to push the vampire away, the blonde forced his hands to grip the back of Desmond's shirt tightly. His neck felt as though it was on fire. Just when Adrian was about to ask Desmond's to stop, the burning changed to tingling. The next thing he knew the tingling feeling traveled through his entire body in waves. He had never felt anything like it before and it was unbelievably pleasurable. Still fighting back screams, though now ones of pleasure, Adrian writhed in under Desmond's powerful body.

Desmond released Adrian's neck and licked at the blood that slowly seeped down from the small puncture wounds. "Mmmm you taste delicious".

He groaned as he shifted his hips, causing friction, as his clothed erection brushed against Adrian's. Adrian moaned loudly as he shifted. Pulling and tearing at his clothes to remove them, Desmond needed more of Adrian. "I think we are wearing too many clothes."

Light headed and almost painfully aroused, the detective struggled to comprehend what the vampire was saying. Only when Desmond began unbuttoning his pants did he realize what was going on. As quickly as he could without making his head spin, the blonde unbuttoned and took his pants off. Kicking them lazily off the bed as he stared into Desmond's astonishing green eyes. Picking himself up off the bed slightly,he met the vampire in a passionate kiss. Between the kiss, Adrian managed to whisper a request.

"There is oil in the top draw. Please get it for me."

Not trusting his voice, Desmond nodded and reached over to the bedside table and pulled out the vial of oil. He moved off of Adrian and kneeled next to him on the bed.

"Here" he said as he handed him the vial and finished taking off his pants. "How would like to do this?"

Opening the vial, the blonde poured some oil into the palm of his hand. Adrian was pretty sure he poured some of the liquid all over the bed because of Desmond’s distracting kiss to his jaw and neck. Taking ahold of Desmond's hand, he coated the brunette's fingers in the oil before guiding their hands lower. Adrian had to admit he wouldn't last very long if he was the one on top like he would have preferred. Desmond's delicious torture to him all night long had made certain of that. He wondered if Desmond knew what he did to him when he's kissing him like this? Despite how hard he had been trying the past month to ignore his growing feelings for Desmond, he couldn't deny them now.

With his free hand, the blonde tangled his fingers into Desmond's soft long hair as Adrian attempted to steady his voice. "I want you to take me Desmond, I want to feel you inside of me."

Desmond moaned at Adrian's admission and surged down to capture his lips in a searing kiss. He stroked adrians length a few times before moving his hand further down and cupped his balls gently. Adrian moaned quietly as Desmond’s fingers gently circled his entrance. With his other hand he reached out and continued to stroke adrians length, in the hopes of distracting him as he slowly pushed his index finger into adrians tight heat. Adrian tensed at the intrusion, it had been too long since he had been with anyone. Taking a breath, he slowly let it out and willed his body to relax. Desmond watched Adrians face as he visibly relaxed, “Are you alright, do you need me to stop?”

“No, no I’m alright. Please don’t stop.” Adrian breathed out as he looked down at Desmond with lust filled eyes.

Smirking Desmond leaned down and licked the underside of Adrians throbbing length as he added a second finger and began to scissor them open. He continued to lick and suck on Adrian’s cock as he stretched and added a third finger. He grinned when he found the spot inside that brought pleasure when the younger man screamed. Desmond smiled up at the detective, "Mmmm I think you should make those sounds all the time."

Adrian tried desperately to catch his breath as Desmond withdrew his fingers, resulting in a mixture of disappointment and relief. The young man ran his left hand over Desmond's defined torso, to rest onto his shoulder. Half-lidded blue eyes bore into fiery green eyes as he took ahold of Desmond's rock hard member with his right hand. Coating him in the remaining oil from earlier, as he placed the throbbing erection at his entrance. "I think you should be inside of me already."

Not trusting his voice, Desmond nodded and began slowly pushing into Adrian's tight heat. Groaning, as he fought to not slam into Adrian.

"You are so tight" he moaned out as he watched Adrian's face for signs of discomfort as he bottomed out. "You feel so good around me."

He leaned down and ghosted his lips across Adrian's neck, and smirked as the detectives started to shift and move his hips underneath him. He asked as he pulled out slowly until only the head of his cock was left inside. "Would you like me to move?"

"Mmmmm yes." Adrian moaned breathlessly as Desmond slowly thrust into him. "Please Desmond.....Please fuck me harder."

Adrian barely finished his plea before Desmond thrust deep into him, hitting the small bundle of nerves inside resulting in a scream of pleasure. Unable to control himself, Adrian screamed and moaned with every delicious movement his lover made. Arching his back as he drew in a sharp breath, Adrian moaned loudly. "Ahhhh Desmond..... I can't..."

Desmond reached down and stroked Adrian's length in time with his thrusts. He quickened his pace and angled his hips so that he hit Adrian's sweet spot with every thrust. "Then cum for me, don't hold back."

It wasn't long before he felt Adrian clenching around him and pulsing in his hand, painting the two of them with Adrian’s release. Adrian saw stars as his orgasm flowed through him like waves of fire. His nails tore into Desmond’s back and his muscles stiffened as he cried out. Desmond seemed just as affected, shouting out Adrian’s name as he thrust once more and came inside of the detective. Adrian could feel Desmond pulsing inside of him, filling him with his cum. After catching his breath, Desmond started to move, not wanting to crush Adrian under his weight.

Adrian attempted to hold Desmond on top of him only to have the vampire easily move out of his weak grasp to lay beside him. The younger man opened his mouth slightly to protest but quickly forgot what he was going to say when Desmond lifted him to partly lay on his chest. They both laid that way until Adrian broke the comforting silence.

"I think we need to get up." The detective mumbled but still laid where he was. "I moving....really. Do we NEED to get up?"

Desmond's chest rumbled from laughter beneath the blonde's resting head. No matter now much Adrian tried to focus on moving all he managed to do was almost fall asleep and snuggle closer to Desmond. The vampire’s amused voice was the only thing keeping him awake. "Sleep, you are going to need to be rested for tomorrow. I unfortunately still have much to do. I will be back before you wake."

Adrian whined as Desmond carefully moved out of his grasp and stood. He quickly found his clothes and dressed, and before leaving he leaned over and kissed Adrian's hair. Grinning he left the room and made his way out of the small flat. Desmond spent the rest of the night contacting several people and giving orders. Some of his men were to clean up the old house, and others to move his things from the house he had been occupying to the new residence. He also made arrangements with several of his higher ranking vampires to watch over the city and the pub while he was away. Needless to say he was exhausted by the time he made it back to Adrian's apartment, and true to his word when he walked into the bedroom his lover was still asleep. He quickly undressed and slid into the bed next to the detective.

"Good morning" he whispered as he kissed Adrian's cheek.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Empress and I would like to apologize for the long wait for this chapter. Our lives tend to get pretty hectic and in the way of our writing and editing times. So we made this chapter a bit longer to make up for your wait and hopefully we will be able to get chapter 10 up for you guys with in a timely manner. ^.^

Adrian stirred and opened his eyes when he heard Desmond's voice. Instead of seeing the vampire's face or even an empty room, Adrian was shocked to see a vast field that had been charred by fire. Sitting up and looking around he realized he was laying in his family's field, the one that his sister had died in. Looking towards where his house should have been, he only saw small traces of smoke and some stone work from the fireplace.

"It is a dismal sight isn’t it?" Adrian quickly scrambled to his feet to see his sister standing in the burned field walking towards him.

Blushing and swearing as he remembered his lack of clothing when he had fallen asleep. Adrian quickly looked down to find he was fully dressed in the same clothes he had worn that night his family was killed. Despite his attempt to sound teasing to lighten the mood, his voice shook with emotion. "Where have you been the past...month Emma? I was starting to think you left me."

"Your boyfriend has been taking good care of you. You simply haven't needed me, so I have just been watching and waiting."

"What’s wrong Emma? Why are we here?" Adrian frowned at her somber tone and gestured to the burned field and house. "Every time I've seen you before you've been happy....the house was fine...what’s going on?"

Without responding Emma began walking towards, what was left of the house. With no choice but to follow Adrian stayed behind her but made sure to keep up. As the charred remains of the house came into view he thought he heard his mother's voice. "Emma? Did you hear that?"

The young blonde girl continued on, ignoring his words. Sighing in annoyance the detective strained to listen. "I know it wasn't his fault...I should have taught him...the boy will be fine without us.... We need to leave. NOW!"

That voice he could clearly hear and recognize. "Dad?!"

Adrian bolted in the direction he thought he heard the voice coming from, only to find nothing but the lone stone fireplace blackened from flames. Adrian sank to his knees staring into the hearth as his sister slowly walked around him and sat next to him. "So...they knew Raul was after them?! Then maybe...no...I know they are dead."

"What do you think this place looks like now?" Adrian opened his mouth to speak only to find his voice was lost as she continued. "I imagine it’s covered over in vines and barley. Bright in the noon day sun it’s the only green in a field of gold. Oh big brother. Promise me you'll take me with you when you go back. I have to see the fields gold and green and the trees. I miss the sun Adrian. Please take me with you."

Tears welled up in his eyes as he finally found his voice. "I don’t even know how I managed to have you here, let alone take you anywhere."

Without a word Emma reached behind her neck and unclasped the chain that held a locket. "You gave this to me for my birthday years ago and I know you wear it now, even as you sleep. I’ll always be with you as long as you wear it."

Silence fell between the siblings as Emma handed Adrian the locket. Fumbling the cold metal between his fingers the detective whispered softly. "Do you want me to leave it there? So you can stay home."

Much to his surprise Emma nudged Adrian with her shoulder. "Dont be ridiculous! I just want to make sure you keep me with you. You've left me at home in the past when things get dangerous because you’re afraid you'll lose the locket. I want to make sure you take it with you this time."

Adrian smiled as he wrapped his arms around his sister, pulling her into a tight hug. "Thank you for forgiving me."

"Im your sister. You ALWAYS do stupid stuff I have to forgive you for. We are family, and now that Desmond is family. I will try to help him too." Emma shook with laughter.

Adrian blushed deeply at the mention of Desmond being part of their family, he had to admit he liked how it sounded. "I wish Mom and Dad could have met him. I think they would have really liked him."

Emma smiled her infamous grin, the one that usually meant she had a secret he had no clue about, before reaching into the dark stone fireplace. Taking something from the ashes within Emma then gently took hold his right hand and put whatever it was on his middle finger. "Your lover is home and you have work to do."

His vision faded as he felt a kiss on his cheek and Desmond's voice saying good morning before he opened his eyes, finally awake. Desmond was already "asleep" when he woke and strangely enough Adrian didn't mind. Whispering goodnight, before Placing a soft kiss on his his lovers cheek, Adrian got up and ready for the day. Shutting and locking his apartment door the detective mentally went over the list of things he had to get done before the night snuck up on him like it always did. First he had to tell the Chief that he’d be out of town for....8 weeks. Second make travel arrangements, and third... Adrian stopped mid-thought when he saw a familiar ring on his right hand.

"Father’s family heirloom. Where did this come from?" Adrian whispered to himself as he inspected the ring. Upon further inspection he noticed a little bit of ash still on his finger and the ring. Shaking his head in dismissal and defeat, Adrian finished locking the door before muttering a string of curses.

Reaching Scotland Yard, Adrian greeted the other officers happily before making his way to the Chief of Police’s office. "Please dont tell me your resigning? The only time someone comes into my office in that good of a mood is when they tell me they are never coming back."

The detective laughed heartily as he shook his head. " No no no. I just wanted to stop by and tell you that I'm going on a little trip and I'll be gone for a couple weeks."

Straightening up the old man looked concerned. "Is everything alright? Does Desmond have a place to stay since you’re leaving?"

Adrian raised a hand to reassure the chief that Desmond would be fine. "Dont worry about him. He can take care of himself."

The old man nodded before dismissing Adrian saying that his vacation was noted. His next stop was even easier than that. The carriage company he wanted to use was owned by one of Desmond’s upper ranking vampires. And he had already planned the trip out for him before he arrived there. All he had to do now was pack....which he hated. Sighing he reluctantly returned home and pulled his trunks out of one of the closets. While shoving things into a trunk Adrian muttered to himself. "Why do I need to pack anything....I hate packing....do I even need these things."

Sighing Adrian slumped down on the sofa with a half packed trunk on the sofa table. Without realizing it Adrian accidentally fell asleep on the sofa and was woken up to someone packing the half full trunk in front of him.

"Thanks sis.....you are really excited about this aren’t you?" The young girl smiled almost maniacally. "Any chance I get to see that bastard get his ass handed to him by my family is a good trip in my book."

Adrian chuckled as he looked out the window. "Its almost night time...Desmond should be.." As adrian turned to look at his sister she was gone. "up soon..."

Slowly Adrian stood and looked around the room before going into the bedroom just as the sun set for the day. "Good morning Desmond...or night? Would you like a drink before we go cause I would REALLY like a drink."

"Yes, I think I should drink before we depart this evening." Desmond sat up and chuckled at the younger man, before moving so that he sat on the edge of the bed;motioning Adrian to sit next to him. "Are you alright? You look tense."

Oh great, how is this not going to sound crazy. Adrian nervously ran his fingers through his hair before resting his hand at the base of his neck as he walked over to Desmond. Plopping down on the bed as he sighed, the detective chuckled awkwardly. "So I uhh...I started packing us a bag and fell asleep...It's fully packed now...I feel asleep halfway through. There has to be some kind of explanation for this....I must have been dreaming. I'm alright, I think I'm just worried about going back but... I'm fine."

"Alright" he said, choosing to let the subject drop for the moment. "But if anything is wrong you can tell me."

Adrian nodded and Desmond couldn't help but smile at the detective. Desmond wanted pry, he knew it was more than just going back to his childhood home that had the man worked up. Reaching over he grabbed the younger man and pulled him onto his lap and nuzzled the length of his neck. Adrian laughed as Desmond practically picked him up to move him. "Yeah I know...Will you stop that!? If you’re going to bite me do it and get it over with already, that tickles!"

As Desmond pulled away slightly Adrian looked into his eyes. Thinking about what his sister had said in his dream, the detective leaned in and kissed him. He brushed his lips against the vampires as he spoke softly. "We still need to finish what we started last night before we leave."

"When I place the mark on you I'm not really sure what you will experience. Apparently it is different for every Drága vére but we will share each others memories." He reached up and tenderly cupped Adrian's jaw "I apologize now for anything you see from my memories and past that may frighten you."

Adrian laughed. "If my mother could handle my dads memories of being a ruthless murderer for centuries I think I'll be fine." Suddenly the light mood ended as the detective averted Desmond's eyes. "I guess I should apologize now for anything I didn't say that I should have."

To the blond's surprise, Desmond made Adrian look at him as he gave him a 'you worry too much' look. With a nervous chuckle Adrian kissed Desmond's lips. "Lets get this over with then."

Desmond nodded slightly and opened his mind and began to place the mark as soon as he bite into Adrian's neck. The detective closed his eyes to prepare himself for the searing pain he had felt last time as the vampire bit into his neck. This time however, his ears filled with voices he didn't know and his mind flooded with a multitude of emotions. The rush of all these new senses caused him to blackout...or so he thought.

Slowly light began to filter into his sight and Desmond’s early childhood memories hit him in a rush. Adrian looked around and saw that Desmond was standing with him along with a younger version of the vampire, in a small home with his parents and siblings eating their evening meal. As he stared he made a note to harass the vampire about being an adorable kid. He blinked and the memories of Desmond’s youth speed past his eyes until the memory of being cornered in a small alcove in the lord’s castle by a foreign dignitary flooded his sight.

"Adrian" Desmond said softly, gaining the younger man's attention forcing him to look away from the scene in front of him, "This is when I was turned, what you see next will be me..."  
He choked and looked away and blindly reached out to take Adrian's hand. Adrian made sure to take a hold of Desmond's hand before watching the memories again. He had intended to give Desmond some comforting words but what he saw next made him forget them. Desmond found it hard to watch as the memory faded into the boys chambers. He could see himself in the doorway with a feral look in his eyes.

"Desmond! What are you doing in here?" He heard Liam, the older of the two boys said.

He knew what was coming and squeezed Adrian's hand. He watched himself launch across the room and tear into Liam's neck, the screams from the boy and his brother who leapt from his bed to try and pull Desmond off, filled the room. Eámon, the younger boy hit and screamed at Desmond to stop but nothing fazed or pierced through the bloodlust that held Desmond in a tight grip. Liam soon fell limp in Desmond's grasp, realizing the boy had no more blood left to give, he dropped him to he floor and pounced on Eámon in the blink of an eye.The younger boys screams slowly stopped as his life was drained from him. Adrian watched in horror at the scene that unfolded before him unable to even blink until he heard Desmond voice through the screams.

"I'm so sorry" Desmond cried out, even though he knew that the boys couldn't hear him.  
He fell to his knees and the only thing anchoring him from spiraling into self hate and depression was Adrian's hand and presence. Adrian turned his gaze towards the vampire kneeling beside him then back to the haunting memory, Adrian felt an eerie resemblance to his own past. One he would not have wished on anyone. Just as Eámons lifeless body fell to the floor, Lord Anarí burst into the room in a panic and stared in shock at Desmond covered in blood and the crumpled small bodies of his sons.

"Desmond! I'll see you dead" he shouted as he stormed towards Desmond, only to have Desmond attack him and rip out his throat.

The memory faded and Desmond looked up Adrian with blood tinged tears streaming down his face. "I couldn't stop myself Adrian, please believe me."

Adrian dropped down to his knees beside Desmond. Taking the vampire's face in his hands as he wiped away his tears, Adrian spoke comforting to him. "You know that I do. No one believes you more than me. It's not your fault, you know that and I know that. I'm not going anywhere. I'm doing this because I trust you and I want to be with you please don't forget that."

Desmond smiled at Adrian through the tears and enveloped him in a hug. After a whisper of gratitude, Desmond pulled back as memories of his time gaining power and strength throughout the years and traveling to different cities moved on around them. The memories seemed endless and with a small humorless chuckle, Desmond murmured to himself. "I guess I've amassed a lot of memories in my many years"

Eventually the memories slowed and showed Desmond standing in front of the old house they were getting ready to move into. "I remember this, I bought the house and made it my main offices when I took over the city. I opened the pub soon after and moved everything over there."

His memories in London continued at the slower pace, showing Desmond fighting back and making the rogue vampires who lived within the city submit to him. Meeting Gabriella, and various stages of their relationship, causing him to glance at adrian. The blonde was rigid with irritation and jealousy. Desmond sighed "She never meant anything to me."

Adrian didn't really respond to him besides a curt nod of the head. Eventually the memories stopped and ended with Desmond and Adrian making love on the young detectives bed. Desmond smiled and tugged Adrian closer to him. "I think this will be one of my favorite memories."

Adrian thought about making a comment or two about whether his nights with Gabriella were a close running second but decided not to ruin moment; Desmond was being sincere. The detective snuggled into the embrace closing his eyes."It is mine so far."

When he opened them he realized it was his turn to face his demons. The memories started slow making Adrian wonder why. They saw a much younger Adrian holding on to a little girl with long golden hair as they stood next to a freshly covered grave. Their mother stood behind the children staring down at the gravestone with more than sadness in her eyes. Several other people, many of them vampires, stood around the three they suddenly moved away from them as if they had the plague.

"Evelyn? Are you and the children alright?"

The woman turned to face Victor Blaque and his two closest men as she whispered. "I....I don’t know how I'm going to do this without him, Vic. I can’t pay our bills, I dont have the strength to do most of the field work...How are we going to do this alone?"

With a gentleness that surprised everyone there except for Adrian's mother, the master vampire wiped away her tears. "I promised Thomas I would take care of you and your family were something to happen like this and I promise you, you won’t ever have to do this alone."

Evelyn began to cry as Victor wrapped his arms around her. Desmond watched and Victor tenderly embrace Adrian's mother, and he couldn't help but like the man. So swift it was missed by everyone but Adrian, Victor looked down at the small boy and smiled. The small boy smiled back at him. "Not you or your children."

"Ahhhh that's right. This is the day of my birth father's funeral. I don't realize then but that was the day he became my new dad. He made a point to take care of all of us."

"I never met him, and I had only ever heard of his reputation, but I can see that he cared for your mother and the two of you." Desmond said gesturing to the younger version of Adrian and his sister with his free hand.

"He did."

Adrian smiled as the memories sped up and centered around an old but well taken care of farm house. Vampires flashed in and out of his memories from meetings with his father to helping around the house. At the age of 13 his memories started to slow down. Adrian and his mother and sister all stood in a barn near the house.

"Remember to aim. Take a deep breath." Adrian's mother had not aged a second from his first memory, but seemed world's happier.

"This is too hard mom, I'm never going to get it." The young Adrian complained as he lowered the crossbow to his side.

"That's because you're not standing properly." Adrian's father walked into the barn earning a good night greeting from his mother. The young Adrian allowed his father to move him. "There now try."

With every shot fired, he hit the target dead on. "If your mother wouldn't kill me I'd insist you go out on missions with me."

Adrian's shoulders slumped as he watched his father pat his younger self's back. "He would have liked you Desmond. I wish you could have met him."

"I wish I could have met all of your family" Desmond moved behind him and tenderly hugged him to his chest, before beaming proudly. "I see your training started early, and by a very powerful Master Vampire and his Drága vére; no wonder you are deadly."

Adrian felt himself blushing at the praise. "Thank you Desmond."

He watched himself grow up and Adrian realized the memories didn't show when Raul arrived on the farm. But it was apparent that the vampire was a very good friend of Adrian and his sister, many of the memories had all of them in it. The memories that once had Emma in them suddenly changed, now the memories were of only Adrian and Raul. "Raul asked Emma if he could court her and she said no. He didn’t take the rejection well and made me choose between the two of them. I was 18 and Raul meant more to me then my family. I was an idiot."

The memories continued until suddenly slowing down with Adrian sitting on a dock of a nearby pond. The dock was very close to the water allowing Adrian to rest his legs in the water while Raul swam in front of him. At this point the detective had his free hand clenched into a fist and his entire body tensed.

"I am being serious with you Adrian." Raul chuckled as he wadded the water.

"Look Raul, you asked to court my sister after ogling her for years, she refuses your advances and you complain about being jilted by the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. And here you are trying to tell me you have feelings for me...Have you fed tonight? Because I think your going crazy." The younger Adrian was blushing deeply despite his confident voice.

"I'm not going crazy." Raul splashed him to further his point.

"And yes she is beautiful, even you have to agree. Yes I did want Emma but we often want what we can't have." With one swift and skilled movement, Raul had placed his hands on Adrian's legs and pushed himself up out of the water allowing him to speak close to Adrian. "But I don't just want you, you are what I need. It just took me a while to see that."

Without waiting for Adrian to respond Raul kissed him. After a moment, Raul pulled them both onto the water. Desmond stiffened as he watched the exchange between Adrian and Raul. Sighing he hugged the detective tighter, "I wish you would have told me about the relationship the two of you had. We are going to have to be careful when we reach your old home. I'm sure Raul will try and use your past relationship to his advantage."

Desmond turned Adrian around to face him, giving him a small smile he pressed a light kiss to the detective's lips. "I won’t let anything happen to you, and I will be sure to let that bastard to know that you are mine!'

Adrian blushed at Desmond's possessiveness, giving the vampire a passionate kiss. Pulling away he looked back to the memories that kept playing around them. "This is where things started getting bad..."

Memories of his relationship with Raul flew by as well as many fights with his mother and sister. The memories started to slow down during a fight Adrian had with Raul. Both men were clearly upset. "You don't believe I can do this? Do you have no faith in me Adrian?"

The now 19 year old Adrian immediately looked hurt. "Don't start that bull shit with me Raul! You KNOW I think you can do whatever you want to do. What I'm trying to say is what you’re planning on doing IS KILLING MY DAD! No matter how you do this, that's how it works. You can’t have every territory if you don't kill EVERY Master."

The argument continued even though their voices were gone. Adrian turned to Desmond and chuckled bitterly. "I don't remember what happened after that. I guess that's why we can’t hear anything. I genuinely don't remember what he said. I was too upset."

The younger Adrian began to walk away when Raul's voice could clearly be heard. "Wait Adrian...I'm sorry. I know you are trying to help me. Please don't walk away from me."

At that Adrian had stopped but he didn't turn around. Raul took a few steps closer to Adrian touching his shoulder. Before turning around Adrian put his hand on Raul's. "I love you Adrian....Please look at me."

"I lo..." As soon as Adrian turned around he was met with Raul's blood red eyes instantly bespelling him.

Raul laughed darkly. "Oh Adrian, something I've learned in all these years as a vampire is if someone isn't 100% with you they are completely against you; an enemy. But don't worry my love. You will help me just as I have asked and you will understand what it is to be my enemy."

Desmond growled, even though he knew that this Raul couldn't hear him. He turned and and tried to contain his rage, ""That bastard had been bespelling you and erasing your memories! I will kill him and I will make it as slow and as painful as I possibly can!" He said harshly and then looked down and tried to regain his composure.

When he had finally reigned his emotions back in he looked up to see Adrian staring in shock and hurt at the memory. "Adrian, there was no way for you to have known.”

In the blink of an eye his memories shifted, showing Adrian walking into his home in the middle of the night. It appeared empty but Adrian seemed to know exactly where he was going. As soon as he opened one of the house doors down a hall Adrian looked away from the memory. The possessed Adrian walked into the room and roughly took his sleeping sister from her bed. Emma startled awake and hit Adrian playfully.

"What are you doing you big bully! I'm trying to take a nap before daddy and mommy get home." her smile immediately faded as she looked up at her brothers face. "ADRIAN! Adrian wake up! What are you doing?!"

She continued to kick and plead with Adrian as he drug her outside of the house and down to the middle of the family's barley field. "YOU?! Raul you release my brother this instant or father will make short work of you."

Raul responded with a maniacal laugh as the girl was handed to two other vampires. "Your father and mother are...delayed I believe. Isnt that right Adrian?"

The possessed blond nodded with a blank expression as Raul caressed the side of his face. "Emma your brother and I just finished discussing my plan and now I am going to offer the position to you since he so politely declined."

Emma looked between her brother and Raul as he continued. "I plan to take over all of the vampire territories in England, starting with this one. Like I said to you before Emma, you would make a lovely Draga Vere for me. Serve me for the rest of eternity and I can offer you power beyond your wildest dreams."

Emma's response made the watching Adrian chuckle. She lunged out of the two vampires grasps and decked Raul in the face. "I told you to go to hell once before, you worthless corpse, now LET MY BROTHER GO!"

Raul glared at the two surprised vampires before he grabbed the girl by the back of her hair. "Very well then. I see that this family and I just can’t agree. Adrian...Take care of this for me."

Raul threw the girl to the ground and motioned for the other vampires to go to the house. The vampire walked over to a scythe and picked it up. Handing it to Adrian he winked. "If we ever meet again Adrian, I hope you'll remember your place."

As the field emptied around them, Adrian walked towards Emma with the scythe raised. Emma tried desperately to plead with Adrian and get him to come back to consciousness but nothing worked. Adrian held onto the locket around his neck as he watched, visibly flinching with every strike and scream. The bespelled Adrian looked down at the bloody lifeless body of his sister. In an instant, Rauls hold on the young man was gone, blinking a few times the younger Adrian knelt down by Emma’s body and cried. The large farmhouse burning in the background. Desmond watched the scene unfold and he knew that reliving this was just as hard for Adrian as, it was for him to relive killing the boys.

"I've got you." He whispered into Adrian's hair as he hugged the young man close. "Your sister’s death wasn't your fault and Raul will pay for what he did to you and your family."

Adrian nodded unable to speak as he held on tightly to Desmond's arms. The memories continued despite Adrian not being able to focus on anything any longer. His younger self took the locket from his sister's neck and buried her in the field before it to caught fire. They picked up speed as Adrian wandered from town to town sleeping outside away from people mostly until he reached London and became an officer, then a detective. As soon as Adrian became a detective he began having vivid dreams of home and his sister and things were moved and put out, ready for him in the morning. Adrian laughed half heartedly at the quick flying memory of the first time he met Desmond and his smile grew as their relationship did. As he watched the memory of the night before the detective squeezed Desmond's arms around him gently.

"Yep, definitely my favourite memory." Adrian mused.

His memories continued to show his day and ended with his dream and him waking up on the sofa to his sister packing his trunk. Desmond stared at the vision of Adrian's dead sister packing the trunk in the living room with confusion. Finally tearing his eyes away from the memory to look at the detective. "Adrian, am I seeing this right?"

Adrian looked at Desmond. "You’re seeing what I'm seeing.....and it makes no sense. I thought for sure it had been a dream. Are you sure this mark thing is working right?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Traveling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Empress and I have been pretty productive these last couple of days, that being said here is Chapter 10! We hope you enjoy! Warnings for this chapter are in the endnotes.

"Yes the third mark is in place and working. I don't feel anything wrong with it." Desmond said frowning as the memory faded and they both came back to themselves sitting on the bed.

Desmond kissed Adrian's neck and pulled back to look at him. "Do you still wear your sister's locket?"

Adrian nodded and fumbled with the chain at his neck to pull it out from under his shirt. Desmond touched the locket lightly, "I think your sister's spirit is tied to this locket."

"So....you think I'm actually seeing her....you think she's real?" Adrian stared at Desmond, making sure the vampire wasn't joking with him.

"Of course I'm real!" Adrian jumped in surprise as he turned to see Emma standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. "Hi, Desmond. Hurt my brother and I'll kill you. Well now that that's out of the way, welcome to the family now hurry up both of you! I want to see that bastard get his throat ripped out and ass handed to him. Come on let's go."

Without waiting for a response Emma darted from the doorway heading towards the front door and out of site.Desmond couldn't contain the laughter that spilled past his lips, "Haha I like her! And it looks like I was c

Adrian blushed at his sister's words and the blush deepened at Desmond's reaction. "Yeah we better get going."

Standing Adrian waited for Desmond to get up as well before walking into the living room to collect the luggage. Making sure everything was in order the detective left the apartment behind Desmond and locked the door. They boarded the carriage waiting outside and started their journey out of London. The carriage ride began rather quietly with Adrian seated next to Desmond rather than across.

"Have you been outside of London in the last 50 years?" Adrian asked, hoping that a conversation would help calm his growing nerves.

The thought of going back home after reliving his past just moments ago was starting to get to him and he needed a distraction. Desmond turned and leaned against the side of the carriage so he could face Adrian. "No, I haven't had much of a reason to. Every time there was something that required my attention outside of the city, Jacob, my second was able to go in my stead."

He could see that the detective was unsettled about going back to his childhood home and decided to change the subject to something else. "I was thinking that I could give you the final mark at one of the inns before we arrive. If that's alright with you?"

Adrian smiled softly. "What is that one for? This takes a lot of drastic steps. I see why you waited to do it."

The detective let himself relax a little as he listened to Desmond's voice. Absent mindedly Adrian yawned suddenly feeling the fatigue off his small amount of sleep the past week so he could get more money. "The final mark will involve you drinking my blood as I place the mark. Once we are done you will be tied to me forever and will live for as long as I do. Mind you, if you were to be killed I would die as well. Very rarely will a Master or Draga Vera survive if the other dies."

"Come here" he said quietly as he pulled Adrian against against him. "Sleep I will wake you when we arrive at the inn."

No matter how badly the detective wished to focus on Desmond's words, Adrian felt himself fading out. Adrian nodded into Desmond sleepily. He murmured with a smirk as he drifted off into a peaceful sleep. "Thank you...I don't know why I'm so tired...you must have really worn me out last night."

Desmond spent the rest of the night reading one of the many books that he had instructed to be put into the hidden compartment in the carriage. He enjoyed feeling Adrian's heartbeat against his chest, and the sound of Adrian's slow steady breaths lulled him into a relaxed state. He was almost willing to stay in the carriage for the day instead of stopping at the inn but common sense won out. The driver slowed the horses to a stop and Desmond turned his head and looked out the window to see the front door of the inn they were staying at for the day.

"Adrian" he said softly and kissed the top of his head. "We are here."

"Mmmmm we’re here? Where is here exactly?" The detective rubbed his eyes before looking out the window. "Oh the inn yeah..."

Blushing a little at his sleepy confusion, the blonde stepped out of the carriage after Desmond. As they entered the inn, Adrian choose to let Desmond handle the desk clerk while he looked around the inn. He noticed surprisingly few people in the lobby and also noticed how soon the night was ending. He wondered if most of their patrons were vampires or if they are really doing that poorly. Seeing Desmond asend the stairs the blonde quickly followed.

"So...did you get a room with one of those fancy tea rooms? We have the money and I've always wanted to stay in one of those." Smirking playfully as he stared intently at Desmond's backside while they walked up the stairs. "This whole you being down for the count ALL day thing is very inconvenient."

"I know how you feel, if I had my way I would stay awake and ravish you until you pass out from exhaustion." He said over his shoulder with a lustful expression. "And as a matter of fact, We are staying in one of those fancy rooms with attached tea room."  
Stopping at a door and unlocking it, Desmond smirked at Adrian's excitement at the prospect of staying in a nicer room. Chuckling at Adrian's gleeful expression as the younger man flitted around the room, he walked into the bedroom and drew the curtains. Sitting on the bed he began to take off his shoes and prepared to die for the day. He heard Adrian cross to the doorway and glanced over at him.  
"I know it's inconvenient that I die during the day but I will see you this evening" he smiled and laid back on the bed as he felt the sun rise. He closed his eyes but instead of dying for the day he stayed alive and awake. Opening his eyes he sat up "What on earth? Why didn't I die?"

Adrian walked over to the window, parting the curtains slightly, to look outside. "Well it's definitely dawn...."

The detective crossed the room to sit on the bed beside Desmond. Gently touching his face Adrian smirked. "Well you’re still a vampire....That's the extent of my knowledge."

The blond snickered and leaned in to kiss Desmond. Mid kiss he heard a woman clearing her throat from the bedroom doorway. "Your awake because Adrian is your Drága vére. Dad was awake most of the time, remember I told you she read to him when he slept."

Adrian recalled the conversation about reading but he never remembered his father awake during the day. "Don't give me that look. You don't remember because we were sleeping or you were working outside. Anyway, it tends to happen more with stronger Drága vére’s and the stronger the bond."

Emma took a sip of tea from the decorative tea cup in her hand. "Precious isn't it? Anyway....I'll be out here....drinking tea....please TRY to be quiet....I don't want to be scarred for the rest of my unlife."

Adrian's sister then picked up the small spoon from the saucer and pointed it at then. Moving between the two of the repetitively as she slowly left the door way, an accusing look on her face. Adrian returned his attention to Desmond, now blushing like mad. Desmond couldn't help but chuckle at Emma's antics. He laid back on the bed and pulled Adrian down on top of him, before suggesting huskily. "Well we can definitely make use of our time now since I'm awake. Or if you would like, I can give you the fourth mark. The choice is yours."

"I have to pick one? ha ha...We really should finish this...I'm pretty sure Raul is expecting us to get your men which means he's probably going to try and stop us from even getting close."  
Adrian shifted on top of Desmond so that he was straddling his hips, while whining playfully. Adrian leaned down, capturing Desmond lips in an intense kiss. "This might be the last 'free time' we have."

"Mmm true, there is only so much you can do in a carriage." Desmond mumbled out and lifted his hips, grinding up against Adrian. "I suppose we could indulge for the day"

He began tugging at the detectives clothes and broke the kiss so he could pull the younger man's shirt over his head. Adrian shuddered in anticipation as his shirt was thrown unceremoniously to the floor. Leaning back down the blonde helped Desmond out of his shirt before simply staring at the vampire. Admiring his lover beneath him, Adrian gently ran his fingertips along Desmond's jaw, down his neck, over his chest and defined torso until finally tracing over top of his pants. With a playfully seductive smirk Adrian returned his gaze to Desmond's incredible green eyes.

"Has anyone told you how enticing you look?" He asked breathlessly.

He nudged the master vampire’s legs apart with his knee before positioning himself between them. Adrian unbuttoned Desmond's pants before leaning back down to kiss him. As they kissed, the blond slowly rolled his hips, rubbing their erections together.Causing Adrian to moan, breaking the kiss, before whispering. "The only that that could make you look even more ravishing would be to have you writhing in pleasure beneath me."

Desmond moaned in anticipation at Adrian's words and thrust his hips upwards seeking friction. He reached up to pull him the detective down and began peppering his neck and jaw with hungry kisses. ""Please Adrian I am yours...you can do with me as you please"

Adrian's breath caught in his throat and his cheeks dusted pink despite himself. but that only lasted a second as the younger man began his plan with renewed fervor. Pressing light kisses down Desmond's chest, he pulled Desmond's pants off and threw them to the floor. "Don't move I’ll be right back."

Adrian leaned down and licked the vampire's erection from base to tip before getting off of the bed entirely. Quickly moving over to where their luggage was brought up and rummaging through for a short time, he finally pulled what he wanted out of the trunk. With a deep sigh of relief Adrian practically jumped back on the bed before returning to his place between Desmond's legs. The young man affectionately ran his fingers through Desmond's hair before pulling him into a frenzied kiss. He ran his tongue over his lovers bottom lip before breaking the kiss; he had much bigger plans. Taking Desmond's member into his left hand, Adrian began to stroke him firmly. After a few strokes the leaned down to lick the slit before taking the tip into his mouth as he pumped. Although he really wanted to keep torturing the vampire Adrian realized, between Desmond's intoxicating scent and the delicious saltiness of his skin, he had to have more of his throbbing member in his mouth. With one more stroke Adrian removed his hand and sucked more of him into his mouth until Desmond's erection was completely encased. Desmond couldn't help the sounds that tumbled from his mouth as Adrian's warm, wet mouth enveloped him. It took all of his willpower to not thrust upwards and take control, instead he moved his hands to rest in Adrian's hair. He whimpered out as Adrian swirled his tongue around the head of his dick.

"If you keep doing that I won't last long." He gasped out, his hands leaving Adrian's head to clutch at the sheets beneath him. "Mmmm Adrian"

Now that Adrian had him right where he wanted him, it was time for the second part of his plan. Slowly, he leaned back causing Desmond's erection to slip out of his mouth. Unfortunately, the heavenly sounds Desmond had been making were affecting him enough for his own pants to need to be taken off...now. Adrian quickly removed the garment before focusing his attention on the item he retrieved from the luggage, small vial of oil, and opened it. He put a decent amount on his fingers before tossing it on the bed in an indiscriminate fashion. Adrian gently lifted the vampires knees slightly to make this easier as he half laid down. Looking at his lover as the oil from his fingers coated Desmond's entrance before gently massaging the sensitive area between there and his balls. Smirking, Adrian took the tip of Desmond's weeping member into his mouth again at the same time as he entered one digit into the tight heat.

Desmond gasped out at the dual sensations of Adrian's warm mouth on his cock and his finger in his ass. He forced his body to relax as Adrian moved his finger slowly in and out of his body stretching him. He smiled at how careful the younger man was being.

"I won't break." He whispered out huskily hoping that Adrian would understand that he could take more.

Adrian hummed around him, sending vibrations along his aching cock, as he added a second finger and began to scissor him open. Adrian thrust his fingers inside the vampire's tight passage hitting the small bundle of nerves, causing Desmond to arch his back in pleasure. Smirking in satisfaction around Desmond's hard shaft, the blond added another finger. This time making sure to hit that spot every time the master vampire's cock hit the back of his throat. Adrian moaned in appreciation of how Desmond body was responding, sending more vibrations through him.

"Oh god Adrian!" Desmond strangled out, as he tugged on Adrian’s hair, hoping it would get him to stop. "I need you in me now.”

Adrian released Desmond's aching cock with a soft pop, and looked questioningly at him. Pulling Adrian up, Desmond kissed him hungrily,whimpering softly into the young man’s mouth when Adrian removed his fingers from him; already missing feeling full. Adrian moaned into the kiss as he stroked his weeping erection. Covering it in the oil from his fingers and his own pre-cum before positioning himself at Desmond's prepared hole. Upon breaking the kiss, the blond murmured in his lovers ear.

"How badly do you want me?" Slowly thrusting into Desmond's tight, hot passage, Adrian moaned at the sensation. "Ahhhh...How badly do you n-need me?....Fuck this feels so good..."

He fought to still himself after he bottomed out, listening for the vampire's response; adjusting to the feeling of Desmond surrounding him in delicious heat. Desmond moaned out as Adrian bottomed out. "Mmmm want you, need you. Please Adrian fuck me."

He enjoyed the slight burn that gave way to pleasure as Adrian began to thrust at a frenzied pace, his cock hitting that spot inside him on almost every thrust. Reaching between their bodies he grabbed his cock and began to stroke it in time with Adrian's thrusts. He shouted as one particularly hard thrust left him seeing stars. "Oh fuck!"

Adrian lifted himself enough to watch Desmond as he stroked himself. Which turned out to be a bad idea. The new angle allowed him to thrust into the vampire further not to mention the extremely enticing display he was watching. Adrian bit his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood to keep from cuming just yet. Luckily he didn't have to wait long as he felt Desmond's muscles tightening around him. The added pressure and the erotic sounds coming from his lover made him spiral into a powerful orgasm himself. Desmond came with a shout, striping his and Adrian's stomachs with cum. He saw and felt Adrian tense up as he came moments later and collapsed on top of him. He couldn't bring himself to care, too blissed out from his orgasm, about the cooling cum between their bodies. Chuckling softly he lifted his right arm and wrapped it around the younger mans waist.

"I'm pretty sure we managed to scar your sister." His said in a tired but amused tone, his voice gravelly from shouting.

Adrian chuckled, still out of breath. "Ehh well....can’t say I regret it."

The detective smiled as he kissed Desmond's chest. Lifting his head up to better look at the vampire’s face, Adrian began to remember where they were, why there were in this hotel room instead of his bed. "Im really worried about going back...about fighting Raul. How do we do this last mark? I want to get it done with so I'm not worrying about it too." He confessed with a slight blush coloring his cheeks.

"Unfortunately I don't think you will like the way the last mark is placed. You have to drink my blood while I place the last mark on you. It will finalize the bond between us and make you a true Drága vére." Desmond said as he lifted his left hand and began carding it through Adrian's hair. Sighing he shifted beneath the younger man, "I think we should clean up. As much as I love you on top of me, the feeling of my cum drying on me isn't the best."

Desmond smiled up at Adrian and lightly kissed the tip of his nose. Adrian rolled his eyes and slid off of him, and as Desmond went to sit up his eyes caught the small form of a spider hanging from the ceiling. "Ahh!"

He scrambled off the bed; grabbing the closest object, he picked up the only chair in the room and threw it in the direction of the arachnid, then retreated to the furthest corner of the room. He asked in a horrified whisper. "Is it dead?"

Adrian leapt off of the bed to grab his crossbow. As soon as he turned around he promptly had to shield himself from wood splinters as Desmond chucked a chair at the ceiling with inhuman strength. Lowering his crossbow as he stared at the ceiling, then at Desmond as he whispered. Adrian barely caught what he said before he heard someone rush into the room. Quickly turning to aim the crossbow at the intruder, Adrian flushed when he saw his sister run into the room.

"OH MY GOD!" Emma screamed covering her face. "I heard a loud sound and then a yell and I just thought....never mind...."

The blonde girl left the room just as she had entered it, like a shot. Throwing his weapon on the bed, now covered in little pieces of the broken chair, the detective inspected where Desmond threw it. There on the ceiling was a small spider. Miraculously, still alive and walking around on the ceiling. Adrian looked at the spider, at Desmond, then at the spider again, before deciding it was best not to burst out into laughter. He didn't like spiders much either but the reaction Desmond had to them was nothing but comical. Grabbing a small piece of the wooden chair the blonde hit the spider killing it.

"There it's dead." Desmond didn't move as if he wasn't so sure.

Smiling broadly Adrian crossed the room and took Desmond's face in his hands making him look at him. "It's dead."

The vampire seemed to relax at that before Adrian started laughing. "You protect me from bloodthirsty, murderous vampires and I protect you from harmless garden spiders. Hehe If that's not love I don’t know what is."

The blond almost immediately stopped laughing when he realized what he said was more of a reality than the joke he originally meant it to be. Now feeling very vulnerable and insecure the detective cleared his throat. "I uh...We better get cleaned up and dressed."

Desmond smiled sheepishly at Adrian and shrugged at him. Desmond looked at the detective and could see the fear and worry crossing his face, hoping to chase those insecure thoughts away he leaned in and kissed him lovingly, knowing to let what Adrian said go until later. Desmond pulled back and looked at Adrian with a smile, "I suppose we should clean up. I'm pretty sure we should go and apologize to your sister as well. Because I'm pretty sure she's scarred forever now."

Adrian wanted to laugh but all he managed was a distracted smile. Even as he made his way to the washroom. Cleaned up and dressed, the detective couldn't think of anything besides what he had said. Without making any eye contact with Desmond, the blond quickly walked through to the tea room to see his sister wasn't there. "Hey Desmond I'm going for a walk. Ill be back later."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings  
> -blowjob  
> -fingering  
> -anal sex  
> I'm pretty sure that's it......


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unexpected news

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo so sorry for the long wait for an update. Empressofthelight and I have been really busy with our lives and then we both participated in NaNoWriMo which took up our lives for the entirety of November but we are back now. I have been posting chapters of the work I wrote for NaNoWriMo, called Stolen. So please go and check that out as well as Empresses's other works Bloody Cards!

Without waiting for a reply Adrian walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He descended the staircase and practically ran out of the inn doors, cursing under his breath. Walking down a dirt path next to the building that lead to a small pond on the property, he became consumed in thought. Did he really truly love Desmond? Yes. He cared about what happened to him or he wouldn't be giving up his home for him...or his life. Not that his own life meant a whole hell of a lot to Adrian, but it was defiantly something. The last time he let anyone get this close to him he fell head first into the worst possible heart breaking situation. And yet here he is, falling head first into possibly more, or worse agony.

Adrian dropped down on a nearby bench overlooking the pond as he buried his face in his hands. "It’s been five years...Have I learned nothing from all of this?"

Desmond stood in the doorway of the bedroom looking at the closed door that Adrian had departed through. 'I hope he is alright' he thought to himself as he turned away and sought out his clothing. He sighed as he picked up his trousers from the floor and thought about Adrian. He smiled as he imagined the detective pacing around the garden.

"Silly man, thinking I don't love him as well." he said aloud and was floored by the realization."I love him." Stunned, he sunk on to the bed. "How did I not know I loved him?" He asked to the empty room, hoping that Emma would appear and explain it to him and was pleased when she materialized in front of him.

Emma laughed as she sat next to Desmond on the bed. "I don't know much about love Desmond, but I do know that I haven't seen Adrian this comfortable with ANYONE ever since..." Emma bit her lip before turning to look Desmond in the eyes. "I've been watching over both of you. I've been listening to what you say and watching what you do; it is painfully obvious that you love him. I guess it's hard to see it happening when you don't want it to happen." The young girl stood and walked towards the tea room again. "Do you want it to happen?"

Desmond looked at Emma and couldn't keep the smile off his face. "I do" he said honestly. "I have never felt this way about anyone before. Do you think I should go find him and tell him?" He asked suddenly, completely forgetting that it was daytime. He quickly began pulling on his clothes and made it halfway into the tea room before he saw the sunlight streaming in through the window. "Shit!" He swore as he retreated into the bedroom, ignoring Emma's laughter at his forgetfulness

"Don't worry Desmond he's coming back. You really should take a nap while he is gone so you are well rested when night comes." Emma was gone when Desmond looked back towards her.

\------------------------------

Adrian sighed in defeat. It was pretty apparent to him, now, that he needed to talk to Desmond. He needed to tell him how he felt and he hated talking about his feelings. The young man stood up from the bench and watched as the sun started to make its way through the last half of the day. 'I'm here because I want to be here. I want to be with him. I love him. I'm doing the right thing this time.' Adrian chewed the inside of his cheek as he made his way back inside of the inn. As he made his way up the staircase he could feel his nervousness increasing. Opening the door to their room, the detective slowly walked inside, shutting the door behind himself.

"Hey Desmond... are you awake?"

Desmond shifted on the bed, and sat up. "Yes in here." He replied, hoping that Adrian heard him. He had tried to follow Emma's advice to sleep, but he was anxious for Adrian to return so he could tell him how he felt. Needless to say the furthest he got in his endeavor to sleep was restlessly turning and messing up the sheets. He smiled widely when Adrian opened the door and stepped in. Only to have his smile falter seeing Adrian's worried expression. "Hey, " he said as he got up and rushed over to the detectives side. "You want to tell me what's going on inside that head of yours?"

Adrian blushed as he chuckled nervously. "Hey you know me....I'm always worried about everything." Giving Desmond a reassuring smile, the blond walked over to their bags. After sifting through them for a moment he pulled out a glass bottle. "Thank you Emma." Getting to his feet he walked over to a chair in the tea room and sat down. Adrian took a large swig of the whiskey from the glass bottle before speaking to Desmond again. "I'm really sorry Desmond. I didn't mean to make things more complicated than they already are. It was a stupid thing to say. I'm sorry."

Desmond couldn't help the frown that formed on his face at Adrian's words. He walked into the tea room, carefully avoiding the beams of sunlight filtering in through the window, to stand in front to the detective. "Adrian, why would you say that?" he asked quietly, only to be met with silence. Sighing he knelt down hoping to catch Adrian's eyes, seeing how he refused to look up. He reached out and cupped Adrian's jaw, forcing him to meet his eyes. "You didn't complicate anything, and it certainly wasn't stupid. I feel the same way. I never thought I would love anyone but you have captured my heart. You make me feel alive again." He said gently and hoped that the younger man could hear the truth of his words.

Adrian tried to stop the smile and blush that appeared on his face. Leaning into Desmond's touch before shaking his head. "You can't really mean that. You know I have been keeping things from you. You've seen my past...we can't trust each other." Adrian pulled away from Desmond and lowered his head into his hands. "I can't trust you but I do. I should hate you but instead I'm in love with you. I'm really confused. How is it that you sound so sure?"

Desmond wasn't sure how to respond, and stared wordlessly at the young man in front of him. Sighing he stood.

"Love is irrational, and even though you have kept things from me, I don't hate you for it." He leaned over and kissed the top of Adrian's head "We are going to be together for a long time, while you may not trust me, I trust you. And I hope, with time, you will learn to trust me as well." He straightened and placed his hand on Adrian's shoulder, "Come sleep with me, being awake during the day is exhausting."

Adrian nodded, stood and followed Desmond into the bedroom. 'He still wants to sleep with me?' As the young man climbed into bed he couldn't help but feel guilty. After a moment of silence in the dimly lit room Adrian whispered to Desmond, hoping he was awake.

"Do you still want to do the final mark? I understand if you don't anymore..."

Desmond turned so he was facing Adrian and looked at the younger man. "Why would you think I wouldn't?" He scooted closer and pulled Adrian into a tight embrace "Whatever you think, I will always want you and will always love you. And I wish there was something I could say or do to make you believe me." He pulled back and rested his forehead against Adrian's. "I have a feeling that Raul is the reason for your lack of self worth, which makes me hate him even more. I will thoroughly enjoy ripping him apart." He closed his eye and took a deep unneeded breath to calm himself "I love you Adrian, and nothing you do or say will ever change that."

Tears pooled in Adrian's eyes as he listened to Desmond. Not trusting his voice to argue or completely agree about ripping Raul apart, the blond whispered shakily. "I love you too." Leaning forward and kissing Desmond on the lips before snuggling as close as he could to him, Adrian began to relax a little. The detective must have been more tired than he originally thought because soon after he fell into a deep sleep.

Wrapping his arms around the younger man, Desmond held him tight as he dozed off listening to the sound of Adrian's slow steady breaths. Because he didn't die at dawn he could feel the sun, and woke from his light slumber as is began setting. Opening his eyes he studied the young detective in his arms. 'I will prove to you that you deserve to be loved.' He thought to himself as he leaned forward to kiss him awake.

Adrian hummed into the kiss as his eyes slowly opened. "Good evening, Desmond." The young man stretched against other as he fully woke. "I take it, it's time to leave...Do you need to feed before we go?" Yawning as he curled back up to Desmond, Adrian sighed content. The discussion they had before he fell asleep was still in the back of his mind but he wasn't going to spoil another moment with the master vampire.

"Hmm I would like to." Desmond said as he began nipping the skin along Adrian's neck playfully. "And you should eat as well before we leave." Adrian hummed in agreement as he stretched his neck prompting Desmond to bite down.

Desmond moaned into Adrian's neck as his blood filled his mouth and he drank his fill. He gently licked the wound closed and kissed up and down Adrian's neck gently. Sitting up he looked down at Adrian's sleep mussed hair and ran his fingers through it.

"Come, let us go and get you some food before we leave."

Adrian was extremely thankful that with each time Desmond bit him it hurt less and less. That being said, it still turned him on and Desmond's muffled moan didn't help.

"Food yes, food sounds great." The detective hopped out of bed and started to make his way to the tea room. 'Food. I just need to keep thinking about food.'  
"You can taste what I eat right? Any requests?" Adrian asked as he looked through the tea room cabinets. "All we have are cookies here. We might have to stop somewhere and eat."

Desmond watched as Adrian raced around the tea room in amusement. "Honestly I don't know, I haven't tasted food in a very long time. It is difficult for me to decide. We might be able to stop and a café before we continue on for the night, I know cookies will not be enough for you." He said with a smile as he gathered their things and moved to the door. Let's check out and go find you something to eat."

Adrian childishly stuck his tongue out at the master vampire. Honestly, nothing but a full meal would tide him over and they both knew it. Silently following Desmond out of the room and down the stairs, Adrian tried to remember if there were any good places to eat around the area; specifically one he thought Desmond would like.

By the time Desmond had them checked out and in the carriage, Adrian had given up. "I can't remember a damn thing when I want to, it seems." He smirked, winking at Desmond as he continued. "I blame you for being distracting. I can't remember which place was good to eat at. I guess we'll just have to stop somewhere along the way." The detective shrugged his shoulders while looking out of the carriage window.

Desmond smiled, "That's fine, we can stop wherever you want. And you don't have to be worried about what I would like." he watched a blush creep onto Adrian's cheeks "I will be happy with whatever you choose. Once this is all over though, I will buy you food and lock us in a room so I can ravish you while you eat." He couldn't help the devilish smirk that appeared on his lips as Adrian's pupils dilated with lust.

"Also if you are willing, I would like to perform the fourth mark while we are on the road."

Adrian smiled. "Sure what do I need to do? I fell asleep last time you were explaining it to me." The blond couldn't help but laugh as Desmond shook his head at him. "I'm sorry I get distracted. Sleep, spiders...you...you are really distracting."

Desmond chuckled and leaned forward in his seat across from Adrian. "I know you did, and that's alright you were exhausted." He got up and moved across the cabin of the carriage to sit next to Adrian.

" The fourth mark is placed on you when you drink my blood. It will complete the bond between us and will cause you to live as long as I will. I know that the process isn't exactly ideal, but it is essential." He said as Adrian made a face at the thought of drinking blood. "And if you don't have any objections, I would like to give you the fourth mark tonight after you eat."

Adrian tried to think if it would be better to...drink blood...before or after he ate. After weighing the pros and cons and almost gagging at the thought of it he decided it was best to just do as Desmond suggested. Less thought and gagging on his part. With a sigh, Adrian kicked his feet up on the seats in front of him and leaned his back against the vampire to get more comfortable.

"Mmmmm much better. If I remember right there is a place about 20 minutes from here. I think it's mostly a pub but they have good food. I'm going to need a drink if you're planning on poisoning me." The younger man grinned as he snuggled more into the side of Desmond's chest.

Desmond rolled his eyes good naturally, and shifted so that he could wrap his arms around Adrian. "I'm not going to poison you, you silly man" Adrian just shrugged and settled more into his chest. He was also getting comfortable when he realized he needed to inform the driver to stop at the next pub he saw. Sighing he pulled his arm back and moved to sit up, "I should tell the driver to stop at the pub otherwise you won't be eating."

Adrian groaned as he leaned forward so Desmond had an easier time moving. He didn't bother leaning back after the vampire was finished either. The pub just happened to be coming into view as he looked out of the carriage window. Just in time, as stomach rumbled.

"Well I guess it's nice to know that years of being a detective has proven blood doesn't ruin my appetite." The carriage pulled up to the pub and Desmond and Adrian exited the vehicle and made their way to the doors. Upon entering, a beautiful bar maid greeted them and pointed towards a table in the far corner for them to sit at. With a promise to return and a wink as a goodbye, she disappeared into the smoky room. Settling down at the table Adrian stated to ask Desmond what beer he'd like when a conversation caught his attention. Now completely silent but still looking at the vampire, Adrian's detective skills kicked in.

"Ten vampires Daniel! Ten! They were Raul's skilled men ya know? Cut them down like they were paper. As if that didn't scare the shit out of me, the men were killed by a cross bow and blade. Just like Blaque and his old girl." 'Daniel' set his beer down on the bar with more force than he intended, due to his intoxication.

"Oh come on Todd, you don't expect me to believe the infamous Blaque is back from hell. If he's as smart as they say he is, he'd stay dead. But I did hear something about Raul looking for the kid." Adrian looked down at the table. Unsure whether to kill the men or hug them.

"Well my point is I ain't staying to find out. Mum and the kids are leaving with me tomorrow. I suggest you do the same." Adrian couldn't breath as the two men swayed out of the pub.

“Could they really be...alive?”

"It's possible, I mean, you never actually saw your parents die." Desmond said as he considered the possibility. "If they are alive where do you think they would be hiding out at?" He asked lowly as the barmaid came over to inquire about their food orders. Adrian rattled off an order of shepherds pie and bread pudding, along with a pint of ale without really looking at the menu.

Desmond watched the young woman saunter off before turning back to Adrian. "If you want, we can try and find out more. If they are alive I would like to meet them and try to form an alliance."

"Yeah, if they are alive....I mean..." Adrian dig both of his hands into his soft blond hair. "This is crazy. That would mean dad was hiding. My dad NEVER hid from anything...but I can see him worried about my mom. But why didn't they try to find me?...They can't be alive." Adrian collapsed onto the table dramatically with a groan. "Where's the ale when you need it?"

Just as he finished mumbling into the table he heard a small thud in front of him. Lifting his head slightly he saw that the barmaid had set down his glass of ale before quickly walking away. Barely lifting himself, the detective took several gulps of the ale before returning to his slumped position on the table.

Desmond couldn't help but smile at Adrian's antics as the dark rich flavor of the ale slid across his taste buds. "Mmm" he moaned out softly as he leaned back in his chair.

"I haven't tasted ale in a very long time, I can't wait until your food comes." Adrian still slumped against the table, hummed in agreement. "I'm sure if your parents are still alive, and in hiding, they had their reasons for not contacting you. They might have thought you were dead or captured by Raul for that matter. We will find out for sure, I promise." He said leaning forward and running his fingers through Adrian's hair.

He had to admit the master vampire had a very comforting touch. Adrian's once tensed body seemed to melt under Desmond's fingertips.  
"I guess you’re right." The blond mused as he turned his head to the side. "Regardless it will be worth checking into." Now much more relaxed, Adrian sat up to drink more of his ale. Shortly after the barmaid set his Shepherd's pie on the table and disappeared again. His eyes glimmered with excitement as he licked his lips. He was starving at this point and the delicious smell coming from his food made his mouth water. Adrian wasted no time digging into the delectable pie.

The wonderful taste of the pie slid across Desmond's taste buds, it took everything he had to not moan in ecstasy.

"Adrian, my love, please slow down. I want to savor every bite you take." He said as he slumped down into his chair and gazed lustily at Adrian as he ate. Adrian slowed his eating but had finished with the pie too quickly for Desmond's tastes. "Where is that barmaid with your bread pudding." he muttered impatiently causing Adrian to snicker.

After eating the last bite of the pie the detective looked over to Desmond with a mischievous grin.

"You know I am feeling pretty full...maybe I won’t be able to eat that bread pudding." Adrian had to stop himself from bursting into laughter as the vampire eyed him to see if there was any truth to what he said. Before he could tell Desmond he was harassing him, the barmaid brought his pudding.

"Here ya go sir." The woman was about to disappear again when Adrian cleared his throat.

"Hey, we are gonna leave as soon as I'm done here so...here. Keep the change." The woman's eyes widened as she looked at the amount he gave her before she bowed slightly with a thank you and ran into the smokey room. This time as Adrian ate, he made a point to eat slowly. Not only because of Desmond's request but because he loved watching his reactions.

Watching Adrian eat and tasting the food he ate was quickly becoming one of Desmond's favorite things. The sweet custard concoction tasted amazing and he was saddened when Adrian finished the last bite.

"Thank you Adrian, I thoroughly enjoyed that meal." He said as he stood with Adrian and followed him out of the pub. Once outside he looked at the coach before gesturing for Adrian to enter first.

"If your parents are alive, where do you think they would be hiding? "

"That's the thing Desmond. Dad does not hide." Adrian dramatically emphasized his words before scratching the back of this head. He frowned as he thought for a moment. "There was a place that he would tell mom to take us to if we were in trouble. But I've only been there once and it was when I was very young. I guess we can stop by the area and look around....I'm not really sure where it is exactly." Adrian sighed as they both climbed inside the carriage.

"Well I'm assuming that their hideout was close to your old home correct?" He asked as he settled into the cushioned seat. Adrian nodded and leaned over and snuggled against Desmond's side. "Alright then we will just keep heading towards your old home then, and when we get closer we will stop and ask around. See if anyone knows anything." He wrapped his arm around Adrian and kissed the side of his head.

"We still need to complete the fourth mark as well."


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fourth mark and a surprise meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because we love you all so much here is chapter 12!

"Let's get this over with." Adrian sighed as he turned to give Desmond a playfully disgusted face before nudging him in the side. "What do you need me to do? Besides...that."

"Nothing really, you just have to willingly drink my blood." Desmond explained as he began to unbutton his shirt cuffs. Adrian looked questioningly at him and he smiled. "I figured it would be easier for you if I made a cut on my wrist for you to drink from." Adrian nodded and Desmond pulled a knife from his pocket and made a fair sized cut on his wrist.

"Whenever you are ready." He said holding his wrist out.

Adrian shakily took a hold of Desmond's hand and placed his lips on the wound. The taste wasn't as terrible as he imagined it would be, but it was strangely cold and metallic. The detective wasn't sure how much he had to have but he decided the mouthful he had was more than enough. Making a disgusted face he began to pull away.

Desmond quickly placed the fourth and final mark on Adrian as he felt the younger man begin to pull away. Once the mark was in place the air inside the coach changed. It felt heavy and charged, like the air right before a storm. As Adrian looked up their eyes met and Desmond swore that time stopped.

"Do you feel it? The bond?"

"Yeah...is it supposed to be like that?" Adrian barely whispered as he stared at Desmond. He was so distracted by what was going on that he forgot about wiping the blood off of his mouth. "It’s hard enough to breath around you." Adrian chuckled softly. A deep blush coloring the detectives cheeks as he continued to look into Desmond's eyes.

"I don't know." Desmond said softly as he tore his eyes away from Adrian's, only to have them zero in on the blood still clinging to Adrian's lips. Without thinking he surged forward and captured Adrian's lips in a scorching kiss. The tension in the air quickly dissipated and when Desmond pulled back from the kiss he was breathing heavily.

"That's better." Adrian whispered breathlessly. "Although, I wouldn't mind you continuing." A sly smile spread across his face as he moved closer, planting kisses along Desmond's jaw.

\---------------------------------------------

The next 15 days consisted of a similar routine. Travel at night and then stop at an inn for the day. During the day Adrian took advantage of his lover being alive and for the most part, awake, but this night was different. They should have been there by now.

"Did I really walk this far?" Adrian questioned, more to himself then to Desmond. After about twenty minutes of inspecting the unrecognizable terrain, the young man finally saw something he remembered.

"We are almost to my hometown! My father is buried there." The detective turned to look at Desmond as he pointed out the carriage window into the darkness. The cemetery was barely visible, especially through the fog that had popped up after a heavy storm. It was getting so thick that the driver had suggested they stop for the night as soon as they saw a town. Calling to the driver to stop, Adrian prepared to get out of the carriage.

"If my parents are hiding it would be here."

"Alright then." Desmond said as he opened the carriage door and stepped out. The fog was thick and enveloped him as he walked a few paces into the night. "I hope we will be able to find the place in this fog." he remarked as he turned back to face the carriage, only to have two men jump out from the fog and attack him. "Shit!" He swore as he threw a punch, hitting one of the men in the face.

Adrian turned after he heard Desmond swear to see him fighting two shadowy figures. Quickly grabbing his crossbow from its holster he aimed it at one of the men. Before the detective could get a shot off something sharp and fast sliced the top of his hand causing him to drop the cross bow and kneel in shock and pain. For a split second the fog around him thinned and he could see that the sharp object was an arrow. A very specific arrow. "Mom?" Using his other hand he weekly picked up his crossbow and shot at the leg of one of the men.

"Desmond, Don't kill them! I think they know where we need to look for mom and dad." Just as Adrian watched both men fall to the ground unconscious, a third figure approached Desmond with great speed. "Watch out!" Before he could move to an again. His bow was kicked out of his hand.

Desmond was thrown to the ground, his head finding a rock, as the third attacker barreled into him. Spots danced in front of his eyes, and he blinked furiously to clear them. They quickly cleared and he watched as his attacker circled around him with his teeth bared.  
"Who are you? Did Raul send you" the man shouted and knelt down grabbing Desmond by the throat. "

Adrian faltered from the blow to his arm, causing him to sit instead of kneel in the grass next to the road. Being a detective, Caulton knew how to handle being attacked but when Desmond hit the ground Adrian felt the pain and dizziness as well. This gave his attacker ample time to close in for a killing blow as he turned to see a woman, not much older looking than himself standing next to him, crossbow pointed at his temple. The shadowy figures voice tore through the detective's clouded mind instantly as he recognized their attackers.

"DAD?! Stop you'll kill him! He's not one of Raul's trash. His name is Desmond, he's the Master vampire of London. Please give us a chance to explain."

His mother's shaky voice was the one to respond though. "He has control over you Adrian. As much as it pains me, my son, we can not trust you." It quickly became apparent that his parents had no idea what had happened to him these last five years. They thought he was still controlled and helping Raul. This he could work with.

"Raul's a cocky bastard and wanted me to live in my misery. I left for London. I'm a detective mom see? Look!" Adrian tried to take his papers and other things from Scotland yard out of his pockets to show her. "I have dad's ring and your crossbow....I thought you were both dead." Victor loosened his grip slightly on Desmond’s throat as he turned to his wife with a questioning gaze.

As Victor loosened the grip on his throat he was able to speak. "Sir you son speaks the truth!" He gasped out, causing Victor to turn his attention back to him.  
"I am the Master of the City of London and have control of the surrounding areas as well. Raul has been attacking my people and slaughtering humans with in my territory, and he now holds my Second and two others hostage. We have been traveling for weeks now in order to meet with him and at one of our stops we heard rumors that you and your wife Evelyn were alive; which is why we stopped here. Adrian remembered that you had a safe house in this area."

Victor scrutinized his face and Desmond could practically see him trying to decide if they were telling the truth. After a few moments Victor turned to Evelyn and nodded, and he released Desmond's throat. "No sudden movements, I'm not fully sure if I believe you yet." Victor growled out.

Adrian watched the exchange before glancing at his mother. She lowered the bow as he breathed a thank you to her before getting up and walking over to Desmond and his dad. Adrian shrunk under Victor's stern gaze but continued to make his way towards his lover.

"Are you alright? I know you hit your head." Kneeling down Adrian quickly looked the vampire over before helping him up.

Evelyn watched the two before turning to her husband with a whisper. "Well...I doubt he'd be able to keep up that city accent as a cover as nervous as he is...but more importantly....that..." Evelyn gestured between Adrian and Desmond with a wide grin. "Raul wouldn't allow that to happen if he had control over him." Victor nodded watching his son and Desmond skeptically. "Still need more convincing don't you love?" Victor smirked before addressing Desmond.

"If you really are the Master of the City of London. I have an old friend who should recognize you. Follow us." Victor and Evelyn lead the way into the cemetery. Adrian took Desmond by the arm after picking up his things from the ground. Two vampires approached out of the fog in the cemetery.

"Get those two inside. I believe one of them may need some bandages." Evelyn looked back at her son with a fond smile. "Found my bow? I thought it burned with the house?" Adrian looked at the ground and shrugged.

"I went into the house after the fire...it was hidden under some stone. It's come in handy."

Evelyn nodded. "I'm happy it has been with you these last five years." The rest of their trip was completely silent. Adrian did appreciate the supportive and comforting glances from Desmond as well as his mother.

The other side of the cemetery dead ended into a stream. Crossing the bridge Adrian finally saw the large Victorian mansion. It looked much older now than he had remembered it. After entering the mansion, Victor led them into a living room where four other vampires were eagerly awaiting Victor's return.

Desmond looked around the spacious room and immediately spotted one of the men that had been captured by Raul looking at another person. Just as he went to speak his surprise, the younger vampire turned around and stared in shock.  
"Master Desmond! Thank goodness you are here." he exclaimed as he made his way over to them. Desmond sent a look over to Victor that said 'I told you'. Victor seemed appeased knowing that Desmond was really who he said he was, and relaxed slightly.  
Desmond returned his attention back to his man. "Alexander, I'm glad you were able to get away. But what of Jacob and Andrew?"

"Perhaps we could continue this in the study." Victor interjected before Alexander could respond. Everyone nodded and followed Victor into a study down the hall.

Desmond and Adrian sat next to each other on a sofa that Victor pointed to. "Desmond, If you don't mind, I need to speak with my son for a moment." Adrian turned to Desmond as he agreed before getting up again and following his dad.

Just down the hall Victor pointed Adrian towards a small bedroom. Once inside, the master vampire shut the door. Turning towards the young man, Victor reached out to hold Adrian's gaze as he examined his face for any sign of bespellment. Satisfied that Adrian was himself, Blaque let go of his face as well as a long held breath.

"Look Adrian before we say anything more to each other I have to say this.... I know what happened with your sister. Your mother and I both know. And if you've been in London...All this time by yourself well..." His father’s voice seemed worn and very sad as he spoke to Adrian. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry we didn't come find you."

Adrian shook his head, not really believing what he was hearing. "Dad you don't need to..." Adrian started, but the vampire quickly interrupted his dismissal. "I do. No matter what I have done in my past, that I'm sure you have heard by now." Victor smirked wickedly, remembering his past.

"Your mother always treated me the same. She has never seen me any differently since the day I met her. I wanted to do that for you and your sister. No matter what mistakes or actions you did in life. I wanted to support you."

Adrian didn't know what to say or do. Overwhelmed with emotion he did the only thing he could think to do. Hug his dad. After a short moment he heard the click of heels on the old wood floor. Looking towards the door, the young man smiled at his mother with tear brimmed eyes.

"Seems you didn't need my help huh? I should know by now to leave you two to your own devices." Victor laughed heartily as he pulled away to hit Adrian square on the shoulders hard enough for the young man to choke. "We manage."

In the study, Desmond sat quietly waiting for the family to return when he felt a tap on his shoulder. "So Desmond, how do you like the family so far?" Emma smiled down at the vampire, as she stood beside the sofa.

Desmond looked up and gave Emma a small smile. "I'm not really sure. I haven't had an actual chance to speak to your parents outside of convincing them I'm not one of Raul's lackeys. " he said with a shrug "But they do seem nice." Emma giggled and sat on the sofa next to him and leaned against him.

"Do you think everything is alright back there?" He gestured to the door that Adrian and his parents left through.

Emma stared at the door as if she was listening to something. Suddenly her expression changed from curiosity to happiness. "I think everything is perfect again." Emma barely whispered before she disappeared. The door clicked open and the three walked back into the room. Evelyn walked over to a small bar to make them all drinks as Adrian sat next to Desmond with a reassuring squeeze of his hand.

"I know what you want Victor, but is there something you want to drink Adrian?" Adrian sighed with a smile at his mother's question. "A fifth of whiskey would be nice." Evelyn laughed as she poured a glass of whiskey. As she walked over to hand it to him she chuckled. "As much as I sympathize Adrian. I think we should start you off with a glass at a time." Taking the glass from his mother, the detective smiled lost in happy memories of his family. Memories that quickly came to an end as his father cleared his throat. Evelyn beat him to it though.

"Well Adrian why don't you tell us how you meet your boyfriend?" Victor gave Evelyn a look that she shrugged off with a smile. Adrian on the other hand was blushing. Adrian met Desmond for the first time at his bar...which everyone thinks is a brothel. That's going to be interesting to explain. "I met him at his bar. About a year after I became a detective. But I did not actually have a conversation with him that didn't end with me threatening to arrest him until almost two months ago."

Evelyn laughed before going right to business. "So Desmond is he your Drága Vére yet?"

Adrian choked on his whiskey and Desmond smiled at her bluntness and the blush that rose on Adrian's cheeks. "You don't like to beat around the bush do you?" He asked her chuckling "Yes, we actually completed the bond about two weeks ago." He reached over and took Adrian's hand and kissed his knuckles, causing Adrian's blush to deepen.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about Adrian." Victor added before turning to his wife. "I'm assuming that the 'crazy human detective' Alexander was telling us about is Adrian."

Evelyn nodded as she giggled. "It would seem that way."

Victor then turned his attention back to a very embarrassed Adrian. "We've heard a decent amount about your time in London from him. But I don't really know why you came back?"

Adrian bit his bottom lip thinking of the right way to answer. "Desmond needed my help to get his men back and I can't think of any better cause then kicking Raul's ass."

Victor chuckled darkly. "What did you boys have in mind?"

Desmond leaned back against the sofa with a sigh. "Unfortunately I don't really have much of a plan at the moment. I was thinking of going in to see Raul, as if I was going to make a deal with him. And then when I get the chance I rip his throat out." He said with an evil smile " I am open to any ideas that you might have and I know you know the land and terrain here and around where Raul is staying."

"Alexander seems to believe highly in your abilities Desmond. He was so sure you would be able to just come in and set everything right. And although you should feel really proud of that, I know you've never fought someone like Raul. He himself is a force to recon with, let alone his closest followers. We did manage to come up with a fairly solid rescue plan but..."

Adrian listened carefully to the tone of Victor's voice as he spoke. Raul had him worried. Raul had the master vampire very worried.

"He's expecting you. There will be no element of surprise or shadow to hide under. This will only work if you two are as good as Alexander and Evelyn feel you are."

Evelyn gave a curt but proud nod in agreement. "Victor and I, on the other hand, still do. He thinks we are dead. He also thinks you believe we are dead. So we won't be expected at all."

Desmond smirked at Evelyn. "Are you proposing a surprise attack while Adrian and I go in to negotiate with Raul for my people?" He inquired seriously. Evelyn nodded causing him to consider if it could be pulled off, and if so, would it succeed.

"We will have to plan an exit strategy in case anything happens." He breathed out after a moment "I don't want anything to happen to Adrian or anyone else for that matter."

Adrian made a defiant face at Desmond but didn't say anything. Victor seemed more than amused. "I couldn't agree more." Victor stood and walked over to a roll top desk in the corner of the room, morning for Adrian and Desmond to follow.

"I have some papers concerning Raul's...palace...He's made for himself." Handing Desmond a roll of papers, Victor leaned against the desk. "Honestly. The only known escape route I could see was the one we used last time. Meaning Raul knows of it. Look and tell me if you see a new one. Sometimes a new pair of eyes are better at seeing things one misses."

Desmond flattened the papers on the table next to the desk so he could get a better look at them. He carefully looked over the details of the layout of the Raul's 'palace' locating immediately the escape route that Victor had talked about. He continued to pour over the maps before an idea struck him.

"Victor, did you have this house built? Or did you purchase it? Because it looks to me like the layout of an old distillery front, where the owners lived."

"It is indeed." Evelyn confirmed from behind Desmond shoulder. "My late husband bought this house before we were married. Then he decided to move us to the farmhouse. If the distillery tunnels are what you're inquiring about, they are blocked. At least that is what he told me. But then again...he was uninterested in this house after he bought the farm."

Adrian listened to his mother as he realized he didn't know that about it his biological father.

"We should check them. I always assumed they were blocked or caved in...but if they aren't. There is our escape plan. Let me speak with the rest about this. You two go check out the tunnels. My dear?" Victor straightened and extended his arm to Evelyn which she easily took. "Right beside you my love.”

Adrian watched them leave the room before letting out a long held breath. "Well that wasn't so bad." With a smile the detective finished his whiskey in one gulp.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Tunnel

Desmond bumped his hip into Adrian's and gave him a small smile before turning back to the maps on the table. He flipped through the papers till he found the one with the layouts for the barn. 

"Here it is" He pointed to the entrance to the tunnels on the layouts. "We need to get to this barn and hopefully find the entrance to the tunnels. Hopefully the tunnels aren't blocked...it will make our plan work so much easier. Come on let's go sneak into the heart of Raul's territory." He smirked and held out his hand for Adrian to take.

The detective smiled and took Desmond's hand, intertwining their fingers as Desmond lead them out of the house into the thick fog. Newly resettled around the house, the fog made finding the nearby barn harder than it needed to be. Adrian continued to hold onto Desmond hand even as they entered the barn. Until someone familiar caught his attention.   
"Jesus Emma! Don't scare me like that." The young blonde girl smiled and pointed towards a rickety door in the floor to Adrian's far left. "Thanks sis." Emma nodded before fading into nothing.

Desmond walked over to the small door on the ground that Emma pointed to and knelt down beside it. "Stand back, I don't want anything to hit you, in case Raul knows about it and rigged it as a trap."

The door looked as though it hadn't been disturbed since Adrian's father bought the property but it was better to be safe. He reached for the rusted handle and pulled, the hinges screamed in protest from rust and disuse but it opened. Desmond peered down into the passageway not seeing anything that could be potentially dangerous. 

"I'm going to go down first just in case there is a trap." He stated firmly. Adrian looked like he wanted to protest but nodded all the same.

Adrian watched the vampire descend into the tunnel and he couldn't help but shake his head. It should have annoyed him to be treated as if he were a defenseless child, especially when Desmond knew very well he could take care of himself. Instead he found it to be sweet; another way of Desmond showing him how much he really cared.

Desmond called up that all was well and he moved forward to the tunnel entrance. As the detective followed him through the trapdoor, he tried not to breath too deeply. The air was thick with the smell of mold and dust. Lighting a match, Adrian searched for a lamp. "Ah ha." With a stroke of luck he immediately found one with oil still in it. Lighting it he waited for his eyes to adjust to the dim light before looking around, it was very clear no one had been there in decades. 

"I'm pretty sure this lamp was from my father for it to have this kind of design." Adrian handed the lamp over to Desmond. "So far so good. No cave in, no traps." Walking towards Desmond, Adrian looked around with disappointment. "I would say now's the perfect time to take advantage of the alone time together and at night but..." The blonde gently tapped a wooden box which quickly crumbled sending a cloud of dust in the air. "There is nothing appealing about getting covered in cobwebs and coughing to death." Adrian smirked at Desmond.

Desmond chuckled and rolled his eyes playfully. "I agree, I would rather not have to worry about spiders while having me way with you." Adrian snickered at him as he shuddered at the thought of spiders. "Come on, let's go see if there is anything blocking the tunnel closer to the main house." He took Adrian's hand and led him down the tunnel.

The tunnel was longer then Adrian had expected. By the time they came to the "block" in the tunnel his mother had spoken of, the blond was beginning to think that the tunnel lead somewhere else.   
"Boxes? Maybe this leads into the basement. Let's see if we can move these." Before Desmond had a chance to set the lamp down to help move the boxes Adrian added teasingly. "Maybe you should just hold the lamp...There could be spiders and we don't want them to know we are here just yet.

Desmond shot Adrian a dirty look, "You are hilarious." he deadpanned. Adrian just smirked and looked positively smug, knowing he was right. Sighing, Desmond held out his hand for the lantern "give it here" as Adrian handed to him. He lifted the lantern high up, hoping it would help see through the spaces between the boxes.   
"It looks like there are only two rows of the boxes, so it shouldn't take to long." Adrian nodded and began moving the boxes as quietly as he could.

Soon enough, Adrian had cleared a good space for them to get through. The detective soundlessly made his way into the dark basement. Boxes lined the walls and littered the middle of the basement floor which struck Adrian as normal, which was strange.   
"Really? No torture chamber or secret initiation room? He’s either lost his touch or the rest of the house must be ridiculous. He’s doing everything out in the open." Turning to Desmond, he smiled weakly before looking up at the ceiling. It was truly driving him crazy that nothing was out of the ordinary; no sounds, no smells, no evidence at all of what was going on. 

"He's getting cocky...that might work to our advantage."

"It certainly could" Desmond said softly as he looked around the basement. He walked over and stood next to Adrian   
"Men who are cocky become careless. They think that nothing can touch them." He threw his arm over Adrian's shoulders and kissed his temple "We will be sure to let him know that he isn't untouchable. We'll show him that he isn't as powerful as he thinks."

Adrian nodded confidently as he continued to look around the basement. "Well Desmond, lets get out of here." The vampire turned to leave through the cleared tunnel as Adrian took one final look into the darkness. The next few days were going to be...eventful and thinking of all of the possibilities sent the young detective on edge. Breathing out a staggered sigh, Adrian turned on his heels and left the room to follow Desmond back to the barn.

Once back at the house, Adrian and Desmond followed Evelyn to their room as the sun rose over the horizon. Evelyn kissed Adrian on the cheek before whispering. "I'm so happy you're safe." He hugged his mom and replied. "Me too." After she left and shut the door, the blond quickly undressed and flopped on the bed with a loud groan earning a chuckle from the vampire. 

"What? I'm exhausted.,.way too much information to take in for one day. Don’t you think?" 

Desmond smiled and sat on the bed, leaning down he kissed Adrian lightly on the nose. "I agree," he shifted to lay down beside Adrian. "I'm am very happy that the tunnels are open and your parents will be able to use them when we meet with Raul." Desmond turned so that he laid on his side facing Adrian. "Are you going to be alright seeing him?" He asked seriously, concern flowed through him as he watched Adrian take a deep shuddering breath.

Adrian couldn't bring himself to meet Desmond's gaze as he tried to find the right words.   
"No...yes...I guess my answer is I have to be?" the Detective shifted uneasily on the bed to better face Desmond. "I have no idea what's going to happen and I hate that feeling. I never wanted to see him again but i'm not going to be alone...and I'm here for a very good reason." reaching up, he gently caressed the vampire's cheek with his fingertips. "I'll follow you wherever you go. I'm not going to let you do this alone...no matter how it makes me feel. As long as you're there i'll be alright." He whispered as his exhaustion began to truly set in. 

Desmond smiled as Adrian's eyes began to flutter shut. "Sleep my love, I will be right here." He whispered as he kissed Adrian's forehead lightly; the detective sighed in contentment and snuggled closer to him. Desmond closed his eyes and let the rhythmic sounds of Adrian's steady breathing lull him to sleep. 

It was almost full dark when Desmond woke to find Adrian's curled around him. 'Mm this is nice" he thought to himself and contemplating closing his eyes again when someone knocked on the door.

Adrian stirred but then settled back to sleep as the door creaked open. Evelyn slowly poked her head inside and saw Desmond was awake. With a soft smile she motioned for him to follow her, as well as to be quiet. Once the vampire had exited the room she wasted no time in ushering him down the hall. 

"Victor and I wished to speak with you and figured Adrian could use a longer rest." She whispered as she waved a blonde curl from her face. When they entered the study, Victor raised his attention from the pile of papers at his desk to the two entering the room.

"Oh good. You're awake." The vampire straightened as he gestured to the two chairs in front of the desk. "Please have a seat. I figured we could go over the plans and talk a little while. I am impressed with your ability to hold onto the London territory. Many vampires have failed to do so in my lifetime." Evelyn hummed in agreement. "We had actually discussed taking over London when Adrian expressed an interest in becoming a detective for the Scotland yard when he and Emma were children." Victor laughed, shaking his head at the memory.

Desmond sat in chair and chuckled darkly. "It hasn't been easy, that's for sure." Shaking his head he sighed "When I took the city I killed all of those who would not pledge their allegiance to me. I've been challenged countless times but I'm a lot stronger than most other masters think; they tend to underestimate me." He said with a smile that was more teeth than anything else. 

"I'm hoping that Raul is underestimating my power as well. I am worried about Adrian though, I know that he has a history with Raul and I'm afraid that that bastard is going to try and use that to his advantage."

Victor nodded, a grave glimmer in his eyes. "We are worried about that as well. Raul is known for his ability to get inside his opponent's heads. He knows how to tear someone down. 

Because of his history with Adrian it will be easy for him to pick at little things he know's bothers Adrian to get him to make a mistake. He will try the same tactic with you I'm sure." Evelyn shifted uneasily. "It is easier to influence a human but be warned...he has influenced some great vampires. He almost managed to split us up just before he took away our family."

Desmond tried to keep the surprise off of his face but he knew that he had failed when neither Evelyn and Victor would not meet his eyes. He wasn't going to ask what the bastard had done to them, and neither of them seemed willing to elaborate on the topic. Instead he voiced his main fear.

"If Raul was able to manipulate the two of you years ago, how much have his powers grown since then?" He asked worriedly. This was the first time that since he left London that he was worried that he would lose his city.

Evelyn bit her lip nervously, unsure what to say. Victor, on the other hand, seemed more confident as he folded his hands together in thought. 

"Yes he has gotten stronger. Strong enough for Evelyn and I to stay hidden. Our allies have dwindled due to his persistent influence, but your skills to keep London would be invaluable to us as well as him."

Victor frowned and closed his eyes. "I wonder if he really meant to challenge you in the first place. Raul is powerful and ambitious but I've never seen him take a risk like he's doing with you. He has no idea about your life or power. And yet here he is challenging a master vampire who has proven to be one of the most powerful or just bloody lucky vampires in all of London. Either way it was a foolish move..." Victor opened his eyes to look directly at Desmond. "Unless he intends to take Adrian...not the city."

Desmond's eyes widened in shock and fear at that realization. "Adrian!" He shouted as he jumped from the chair and began pacing. "That makes more sense, he hasn't followed any of the laws to challenge me for my territory. Which means this whole thing was a set up to get Adrian." 

He gasped out horrified as he sank back down into his chair. "I wonder if he knows that Adrian is my Drága Véra, because the only way that Adrian can leave me now is through me death. And even then, there is only a small possibility that he would survive my death."

Victor leaned back on his chair with a sigh. "I have no idea. But I don't imagine that will stop him." 

Evelyn shook her her head, scowling. "No. Nothing stops him when he wants something. So far our Emma is the only one to have kept him from what he planned on." 

Victor stood from his chair straightening his clothes. "Well no time like the present. Let's get your men before that bastard comes up with anything more he can do to them. Desmond, would you like to fetch Adrian or would you mind if Evelyn gets him?"


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The meeting with Raul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 14 I hope you all enjoy it!

Desmond stood and looked over at Evelyn. "You are more then welcome to wake him. If there is anything I've learned about Adrian, is that he does not like waking up." He chuckled, as Evelyn smiled and shook her head. "I see some things don't change. I'll go wake up the cranky detective and we will meet you in the living room." She left the room with a small wave.

Desmond and Victor watched her leave before making their way towards the living room. "Victor, is there a reason you wanted Evelyn to go wake Adrian? Did you want to talk to me alone?"

"Yes." Victor looked at Desmond skeptically. Much like he had when they fought on the road. "I get why you’re here. I get why Adrian is here. And I chalk Adrian agreeing to be your Draga Vera as him being human and a Caulton. But what I don't understand....is why YOU wanted him as your Draga vera. From a Master vampire standpoint he is a fairly bad choice. Yes i’m sure he’s strong and brilliant or he wouldn't be a detective with the reputation I've heard but...his, for lack of a better word, attachment, to another Master vampire after being bespelled should have caused you to change your mind." Victor raised an eyebrow in concern. "I'm sure he told you about that before you started the marks, Right?"

Desmond was a little stunned at Victor's bluntness but didn't hesitate to answer. "I asked Adrian to be my Draga Vera because I love him. Look in my eyes and taste the truth of my words." He said heatedly as he glared at the older Master vampire. 

"While I wasn't aware of the relationship between Raul and himself, he did tell me about the bespellment before he agreed to tie himself to me. And you are correct, he is strong and brilliant, and I wouldn't change anything about him."

Desmond had to force himself to stop and calm down. Taking a step back, away from Victor, he looked down and saw that during his heated confession that he had clenched his fists. 

Victor stopped walking and stared at Desmond. He remained silent for a moment, and collected his thoughts. 

"When I first met Evelyn she was married to a human named Thomas Caulton. I believed, like some of the older vampires, that humans were weak and expendable; useless. Thomas and his family were being threatened by a rogue vampire in my territory and I helped him kill the vampire. Thomas and Evelyn turned out to be impressive vampire hunters but had essentially quit after they had their two children. Thomas was a good man. Much better then I will ever be. He and his family have always made me see how wrong I was over the years. I will never forget talking to him and my second about Evelyn, and don't you breath a word of this to her...My second assumed that Thomas would take Evelyn as his Draga Vera if he were a Master vampire. Thomas, the fool, actually said that he wouldn't and gave a long list of reasons why she wouldn't be a good Draga Vera. She’s opinionated and mouthy, she’s too nice, she cares too much, she has tied herself to her children to the point that they would be a liability. She is powerful herself and won't take orders from anyone. For all those reasons and more she wouldn't be good for it. That night I had to lie to a very angry Evelyn about why Thomas looked like he was attacked by a mob." 

Victor laughed as he shook his head at the memory. "That bastard went along with it too. Neither one of us wanted to tell her the truth...You haven't seen that woman angry...My second had to pull me off of him or I would have killed him for speaking of her like that. To me she is perfect. For all those reasons and more. Adrian has lived through enough false hopes and broken promises. If what I had said did not anger you Desmond, you would have seen why my reputation is so black."

Desmond stared at Victor, not really sure if he was understanding. "Are you meaning to tell me, that you purposefully goaded me? To try and find out if Adrain actually meant something to me?" He spit out furiously. Victor gave him a meaningful look and he had to turn away to regain his composure. Taking a deep breath, he held it. He understood why Victor was being cautious, especially after hearing about Evelyn, but it did little to quell his anger.

Adrian stirred awake at the sound of his mother’s voice calling to him. Sighing sadly as he sat up he realized he wasn't in an Inn or his room at his house in London. Where on earth was he? 

"Good evening sweetie. Did you sleep well?" 

Adrian's eyes widened as he watched his mother sit on the edge of his bed. Suddenly his memories came rushing back. 

"Yeah...Where is Desmond?" Adrian looked around the room for the Master vampire as his mother laughed at him.

"My my Adrian...You really are head over heels aren’t you? I think you may have found the right thing this time." 

Adrian smiled sadly at his mom as his cheeks burned from embarrassment. "Yeah...after really fucking up the first time...sorry mom...language I know..." 

Evelyn smoothed out her sons hair. "We are allowed to make mistakes. We are only human. Now hurry up and let's go. Your father and Desmond are waiting for us." 

Adrian quickly dressed and followed his mother to the living room. as he entered he saw Desmond was mad. His father seemed to be unknowing of anything being wrong...or he was the one who caused it. Evelyn noticed as well and gave her husband a quick frown. 

"Alright ladies and gentleman. are we ready to start this horrible plan?" Victor said enthusiastically. 

Desmond felt it the moment Adrian walked into the room. He glanced over at him and felt his anger starting to drain away. Choosing to ignore Victor, he strode over to Adrian and enveloped him in a crushing embrace.

"Good evening my love," he whispered into the young man’s ear. "Have I told you today how much I love you?"

Adrian blushed surprised by the vampires brash actions. "No...I love you to Desmond...We are kinda busy...is now really the time for this?" The blonde choked out as he tried to move out of Desmond's grip. Once he was released, Adrian stepped back to give Desmond a suspicious look. The detective then turned to his dad. "Let’s get moving. I want to get this over with."

Reluctantly, Desmond released Adrian with a sigh and followed everyone into the large living room. Several of Victor’s men had gathered in the room, awaiting orders and confirmation that they were indeed striking against Raul this evening. 

Victor strode to the center of the room and addressed the waiting throng. “Alright everyone, tonight we are going to make our move against Raul. Desmond and my son were able to clear the tunnel connecting the barn to the main house last night, and we are going to it to surprise Raul and his people. Desmond and Adrian are going to in the Main house, negotiating for Desmond’s Second, and his other man. Once they are inside we will sneak into the tunnel and into the house, taking Raul and his followers by surprise. Any questions?”

Everyone shook their head. Blaque simply nodded and motioned for everyone to leave. Adrian and Desmond walked out of the house and through the graveyard. As soon as the carriage was in sight Adrian turned to Desmond and put his arm in front of him, stopping the vampire from moving further.

“Desmond...what's going on? Did you get into a fight with my dad?” The detective looked worriedly at him. “I need to know what’s going on before we do this...It’s not a good idea to deal with Raul while you’re distracted”

 

“Your father, in case you were not aware, can be a real bastard.” Desmond huffed out and looked at the ground “We didn’t fight, but he did say things to purposefully make me angry. He was trying to find out the reason that I tied you to me and made you my Draga Vera. Though he could have done it a better way. I think I’m more angry at myself, now, for letting his words affect me.” Sighing he ran his hand through his hair in frustration and tried to let go of the remaining anger that had built up inside of him. 

Adrian smiled warmly. “Don’t feel bad. He does that to everyone. You should hear what he did to poor Emma’s friend Todd. Poor bastard.” The detective laughed warmly at the memory. “He’s still getting used to talking to people like uh...people.” Taking a step closer to the vampire, Adrian kissed Desmond's lips. “I don’t know what you said but you seemed to pass his little test. That means enough, don’t worry.”

Desmond smiled happily at the younger man, his anger completely drained away. “Well that’s good, hopefully he won’t have anymore little tests for me, otherwise we might have to worry about broken furniture.” he murmured before he captured Adrian’s lips is a light kiss. Pulling away he took the detective's hand and linked their fingers before continuing to the carriage.

“Come my love, let’s go save OUR men.” He didn't have to look to know that Adrian was beaming at him.

Adrian couldn’t stop smiling as they made their way to the carriage and the entire ride to Raul’s. As they neared the main house his smile faded into indifference, Detective Caulton was on duty. The best way to fuck with Raul was to care about nothing and that’s what he was gonna do. Exchanging a glance with Desmond Adrian felt more confident than ever that they could pull this off. He just hoped that feeling would last. The carriage came to a stop outside of the large house. Desmond took Adrian’s hand in his before stepping out into the night. 

“Let’s hope he hasn’t hurt our men too badly, and” he said glancing over at Adrian “I am sure he is going to try and goad you, and try and get under your skin. Try not to give him what he wants, and remember that I love you.”

He looked at the younger man and tried to convey his feelings of love with his eyes. “Let’s get this over with so we can go home.” 

Adrian nodded in agreement and walked up to the front porch steps of the house. As Desmond took the first step on the porch, the door opened. Several vampires walked out on to the covered porch, armed and glaring. Adrian felt his stomach drop as Raul stepped out onto the porch. 

“Desmond...Adrian? What a pleasant surprise. I have been expecting you….a little sooner though. Did the weather hold you up?” 

Adrian felt shivers run down his spine as Raul spoke in his silken voice. He hadn’t changed at all since Adrian last saw him; same black hair, same blood red eyes, same charm and same commanding presence. The detective gripped Desmond hand tighter as he tried to contain everything he was feeling.

"Good evening Raul, I apologize for our lateness we encountered some bad weather traveling up here." Desmond explained, the lie easily rolling off of his tongue. "Do you really feel that the weapons are necessary? He said gesturing to the men lining the porch. " We vampires are powerful enough as it is. Don't you think the guns are a bit of an overkill, considering the only person that I brought with me was my Drága Véra." He casually pulled Adrian close and kissed his temple. 'Don't worry, it's going to be alright' he whispered into Adrian's mind.

Raul stiffened as he watched Desmond kiss Adrian before grinning madly. “You won’t need to worry about these vampires. They are actually just leaving to patrol the house.” With a wave of his hand the vampires walked slowly down the stairs and spread out onto property. “Please come inside. We have much to discuss, Master of London.”

Raul’s voice had lost some of its enthusiasm, that was until he looked directly at Adrian. Instead of risking another repeat of the past, Adrian averted his eyes. That one simple action did more then please the vampire. Adrian followed closely with Desmond as they walked into the house. His heart seemed to be beating in his ears instead of his chest when they finally stopped in the great room of the house. 

Immediately, the detective noticed Jacob kneeling in front of two vampires, a gun to his head. Jacob looked like he had been sent through a cheese grater. The other vampire, lay on the floor. he wasn’t breathing, but then again vampires don't usually do that. So it was hard to tell if the man was even...’alive.’

Adrian retracted his previous thought. Raul was very different. He had never done anything like this before. Was he the first of a five year run of this horrific behavior?

“I see your hospitality is something to be desired” Desmond deadpanned as he gazed at Jacob and the other man. He ignored Raul's malicious smirk and stepped closer to his Second “Jacob how are you faring?” 

“I will live Sir, though I’m not to sure about Charles. We haven’t fed in days and he hasn’t been able to fully heal his wounds.” Jacob rasped out, his voice sounded as if he had been gargling gravel.

Desmond glanced over at Raul, “May I examine my man to make sure he still lives?” he glared at the men holding the guns “And do you really feel it necessary to hold them at gunpoint with the condition they are in?”

 

“Alive is alive, Desmond. I’m sure you would agree. Alive means value to you. Therefore…” Raul sat down in a chair keeping his red eyes trained on Desmond. “The gun stays, but I’m sure checking the other will be fine.”

Adrian stood there staring at Desmond as he checked the other vampire. His heart plummeted when Desmond’s shoulders slumped. “He’s gone…isn’t he?”

Adrian waited for Desmond to respond to him but he never did. He didn’t need to see the vampire's face to know he was furious.

“If you’re expecting them to be wrapped in pretty bows perfectly fine, then you came to the wrong place. You have something...somethings I want. Although I am willing to negotiate with you...I don’t HAVE to. Make no mistake of that…” Raul straightened in the chair slightly as he gestured for them to sit as well. “Jacob isn’t going anywhere. Please have a seat.”

 

“I wasn't expecting my people to be perfect, but there was no reason for you to kill him! Charles was a relatively weak vampire, he posed no threat to you.” Desmond snarled out pointing at the corpse. “There is no need for me to sit, because I will not negotiate My city or MY Drega Vera with you. You will never again have Adrian, and will most certainly not take my territory from me.” Desmond’s eyes glowed and and his fury radiated off of him in waves.

 

Raul remained emotionless as he stood from his chair. “Hmm. I figured as much from you Desmond, but is that how Adrian feels?” Raul looked directly at Adrian both he and Desmond expecting a response. 

Adrian glared at him. “You know Damn well that I hate you and want nothing more than to never see or hear from you again.”

“I’m not worried. I’ll have you back and I’ll have London, all because you could never chose the right path Adrian. You will always disappoint, but this time it will cost more than your sister.”

Desmond had had enough of Raul and his antics by the time he saw how battered Jacob was. Now though, he was livid. The fucker was deliberately saying things to try and hurt Adrian,and he was not going to let is stand.

“That’s it! I am tired of your games Raul.” Desmond took a step closer to the other vampire and made sure to pull Adrian behind him out of harm's way. 

“ I challenge you.” He said as he drew himself up to his full height.

Raul threw his head back and laughed. “What makes you think that you are strong enough to challenge me and live?” 

Desmond's only response was to let his power flare out, enough that Raul stopped laughing and looked at him with curiosity, his brows furrowed in slight disbelief. 

“That's interesting, you may surprise me with your power, but I doubt it.” With that he lashed out, his power cutting into Desmond's arms and chest. 

Desmond lifted his right arm and watched the blood slowly drip from the numerous cuts. “Impressive, I haven't know many who were able to cut from a distance.”

Raul just smirked. “You should see what else I can do.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ambush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright here is chapter 15. Just so everyone is aware, Empressofthelight and I are still in the process of writing the next chapter so it might be a little while before the next update. We are hoping to get it done soon, but life and the holidays might delay us. We hope you enjoy this chapter!

Adrian watched Desmond stand up for him and Jacob. Even though it should have flattered him all he felt was useless. Biting his bottom lip he looked around to find something that could help. Jacob.

The two lackeys that held Jacob were focused on the powerful fight between Desmond and Raul, now was the perfect time to get Jacob. Giving the weak vampire a sideways glance, Adrian began to reach for his crossbow. With his other hand he palmed another arrow and gave Jacob a curt nod.

The beaten vampire immediately grinned and returned his attention to the fight. Jacob moved like lightning, leaned to the left and swept his right leg under the vampires foot sending him falling backwards. Adrian aimed his crossbow at the vampire's chest and fired. The arrow piercing his heart as he fell backwards dead. Quickly reloading the crossbow Adrian turned swiftly to fire it at the other vampire. He should have had plenty of time after the distraction Jacob had caused, but somehow the other vampire met him with the barrel of his pistol. they fired at the same time.

Suddenly Adrian felt a powerful hand grab his arm and pull him towards Jacob. The bullet hit his shoulder, his arrow hit the vampire’s heart. As Adrian fell to the ground he saw Emma laying beside him for a split second, until Jacob’s unconscious form replaced her. Apparently that vampire was a lot faster then he gave him credit for.

 

Victor and Evelyn led the group of 15 loyal men to the old barn that had access to the tunnel leading to the house. Luck was on their side for the evening it seemed, for when they approached Rauls lands, the few humans Raul employed that were patrolling, left their posts and headed towards the the main house.  
“Hmm we are lucky, we beat the night watch. Come, let's hurry before vampires come to take their place.” Victor whispered to the group, then led the way up to the darken barn.

They all easily slipped inside the decrepit barn, and Evelyn wasted no time locating the entrance to the tunnel. “My love the entrance is here” she whispered, pointing at the area on the floor that had been wiped free of dust and dirt. She knelt down and lifted the rotting door, peering inside. “By the looks of it, no one has been in the in the tunnel since the boys were here last night.”

“Good, that means that Raul doesn't expect an ambush...well at least not from this entrance anyway.” Victor walked over to the tunnel entrance and faced his men. “Evelyn and I will be going in first, everyone else is to follow once we are in. Adam,” he addressed one of his more powerful vampires “I want you to stay here at this entrance. Once we have all descended, shut the door and hide here in the barn. Make sure no one comes in after us. Keep watch and if it looks like we will be attacked from this end warn us.” Adam nodded his consent and without looking back Victor entered the tunnel, and helped Evelyn with her decent.

As the men filtered into the small space Evelyn blindly felt along the wall, hoping to find a lamp. When her fingers brushed against the cold glass of the lamp she let out a small noise of triumph. Digging through the pockets of her dress she found some matches and lit the lamp.

Victor and his men blinked at the light that now illuminated the tunnel. Sighing Evelyn took lead and walked towards the main house, muttering under her breath about vampires and their perfect night vision.

It didn't take long for the group to reach the end of the tunnel, by that point Victor had taken the lead and slowly opened the door leading into the basement. Peering around the room, he couldn't see or hear anyone, but he could hear the muffled voices of Desmond and Raul above them. Not knowing how much longer it would be before they were needed he gestured for everyone to follow him. The men stood around the the stairs as Victor and Evelyn ascended as quietly as the could.

Standing at the doorway they listened to what was happening between the two Master Vampires. It wasn't long before a scuffle broke out, and it took everything for Evelyn not to charge in when she heard the sound of Adrian's crossbow loosing. Victor held her back until a gunshot echoed through the house, that was when he threw open the door.

Evelyn wasted no time running towards the sound of the gunshot. Her crossbow loaded and ready to tear into anyone who stood in between her and her family. Victor was right behind her, his expression becoming worried when he caught the scent of blood. Adrian’s blood.

“Evelyn...Adr…”

“No he’s not…” Evelyn cut him off as they came in sight of the living room. “He’s too strong for that.”

Raul didn’t notice the scuffle at first, or at least he didn’t react if he did notice it. When he caught the scent of Adrian’s blood, he sent one final burst of power out at Desmond before taking a step towards Adrian. Before he could take another Evelyn fired an arrow straight at the vampire. Raul dodged the attack mostly, he was a little more surprised by the attack then he’d like to admit.

The arrow grazed his upper chest leaving a long cut across. Raul glared at her and drew his sword to attack her when Victor darted out from behind her. Their blades clashed together as Raul’ grinned at him. “So you ARE alive...Pitty.”

“Desmond, Evelyn. Take Adrian and Jacob and get out of here NOW.” Victor shouted and pushed Raul back.

Evelyn didn’t need to be told twice as she rushed over to Desmond. “Save Adrian first…”

Desmond scrambled up from the floor where he had fallen after Raul had thrown his power at him. Rushing over to Adrian's slumped form, he quickly knelt down checking the wound and pulse.

“Evelyn he’s alright. He’s going to be in pain and pissed, but he will live.” He breathed out in relief as he looked up at Evelyn reassuringly before pulling Adrian into his arms and threw him over his shoulder. “We need to get him out of here before he loses any more blood.” he remarked hurriedly as he stood.

Looking around the room, he spotted Jacob groggily getting to his feet while holding the left side of his face. “Jacob, can you walk? We need to leave now!” Nodding, the weakened vampire stumbled over the corpse of one of his captures before following Desmond and Evelyn into the hallway.

“We should leave through the tunnel. Raul most likely called all of his guards.” Evelyn yelled above the roar of the fighting that was taking place around them, as she narrowly avoided being hit by a vampire being thrown down the hall.

“I agree, lead the way.” Desmond said as he kicked an attacker in the chest.

 

Evelyn nodded and ran down a hallway she made a sharp left, avoiding a gunshot and let out a small chuckle when Jacob punched him in the face, rendering the vampire unconscious. “now we’re even…”

“This way Desmond. Through the kitchen.” Evelyn yelled over her shoulder as they made their way through the house. Finally reaching the kitchen, she pointed towards the cellar doors in the back of the kitchen. “Go through there. We have a man on the other side that will take you back to the house. stay out of sight as best you can with him bleeding.”

Jacob grabbed Evelyn’s hand gently. “What about you? You can’t go back out there!”

“I’ll keep cover for you. Victor will be here soon…” Aiming the crossbow at the doorway of the kitchen she fired killing one of the vampires that had followed them. “If I get enough of them, they aren’t going to be able to make it through the doorway. Now go!”

\-----------------------------------------------------

Victor kept Raul back as Desmond and the others ran down the hallway. Moments like this were when he felt most alive, longing for this he had to quell the last five years. Now that he was free to enjoy this, damn it he was going to. Lashing out at several of the vampires with his own power, knocking them away from his fight with Raul.  
“Impressive Victor Blaque. Your reputation precedes you. It’s a shame you had to run and hide like a coward….it ruined the whole thing.”

Victor’s jaw clicked in anger and he used his power to send everyone in the room flying, and the house shook. Watching Raul fly through the glass window Victor smirked as he turned to make his leave.

Jacob led the way down the stairs into the cellar with Desmond and Adrian following behind. Desmond managed to make it down without jostling Adrian too much, but he couldn't help but feel bad every time the young man would whimper in pain. The entrance to the tunnel was easily spotted and the two vampire quickly entered and followed it in the dark until they came to the end where they met with the closed door.

“I’m going to assume that the man watching the door is up in the barn.” Desmond surmised quietly while looking at the rusted door handle.

“Well, there is only one way to know for sure.” Jacob asserted as he reached up and pushed the door open, revealing a crouched figure above them.

“Desmond, what has happened? What is wrong with Adrian?” Adam asked in a hushed tone before reaching down to help pull Adrian’s unconscious form from the tunnel.

“Adrian was shot while trying to free me, while Desmond was fighting with Raul.” Jacob explained as he pulled himself out of the tunnel after Desmond had ascended.

Desmond made sure that the door was shut before turning and taking Adrian from the other vampire “He will be alright, but I need to get him back to Victor's hideout. Has there been any activity from the guards on this side of the property?”

Adam shook his head “No it’s been quiet over here for the most part. I did hear some shouting a few minutes ago, but it sounded like it was closer to the main house.”

“That must mean that Raul called the guards back to the house. We should hurry before they head back to their posts.” Desmond guessed as he made his way over to the barn door and looked out. “Stay here and wait for the others, they should be coming soon.” He ordered Adam before slipping out into the night with Jacob at his heel.

It didn't take them long to reach the large house being used by Victor and his men. Desmond had been right about the guards returning to the main house, they ran into no one as they ran across Rauls property.

“I am going to go make Adrian comfortable and hopefully remove the bullet before he wakes, do you need to feed?” Desmond asked as he and Jacob entered the large home.

Jacob nodded “I do. I honestly can not remember the last time I fed. And it will help me heal faster.”

“Alright go and see if you can find a willing donor, then hurry back. I don’t want you out there any longer than necessary.” Jacob gave a small nod then left the room as Desmond laid Adrian gently on the bed they had slept on earlier.

“What am I to do with you my love?” He sighed as he brushed the hair out of Adrians face.

 

Victor dashed down the hallway to the kitchen, where he saw one of Raul’s men trying to get into the kitchen. Before he could swing his sword at the man, an arrow went straight into his forehead. “Evelyn? are you alright in there Darling?”

The vampire turned to face him and with a quick sweep of his sword, the vampire’s head fell from his shoulders and rolled along the floor. “I’m alright but we need to get out of here. Just climb over them.”

Victor did as she asked and charged towards her as she ran for the basement door. They both managed to get in and made it halfway down the tunnel before they heard Raul’s men coming after them. “Is that what I think it is? He pointed over to several barrels clustered off along the side of the tunnel.

“Yes and that’s a wonderful idea Victor.” Evelyn pushed a barrel of gunpowder into the tunnel and continued to run down until they reached the tunnel entrance.

“Ok I’ll shoot at it with an arrow. Adam grab a lantern!” she yelled before climbing up to the door in the barn floor, Adam helped Evelyn up.

“I heard you ma’am and I have a lantern right there.” Adam handed Victor the lantern and watched as the master vampire took one of Evelyn’s arrows.

lighting it on fire from the lantern, He handed it back to Evelyn to load into the crossbow. They didn’t have much time before the fire would melt her weapon so she jumped down into the tunnel and fired at the barrels. Adam and Victor waited until they heard the sound of her crossbow click before they both reached down and grabbed her, pulling her up and out of the way. Just in time for the explosion to rattle the barn.

“Time to get out of here.” Victor urged, picking evelyn up and carrying her out of the collapsing barn, Adam close behind him.

Desmond had removed the bullet from Adrian's shoulder and was gently bandaging the wound when Victor and Evelyn, along with several of their men, returned to the hideout. He could hear Victor telling the men to go and rest, that they had done a good job, and that he and Evelyn would be resting if anyone needed them. He heard the murmurs of consent as the men dispersed throughout the house. It wasn’t long until Evelyn knocked softly on the door before entering the room, her eyes never leaving Adrian's unconscious form.

“How is he Desmond?”

“I removed the bullet and dressed the wound. He will be fine, I can already see how quickly the wound is healing because of the marks. By this time tomorrow he should only have a scar.” He said with a light smile as Evelyn visibly relaxed and moved a chair over next to the bed. She sat down and grasped Adrian's hand in her own as she watched him sleep.

“Would you mind sitting with him while I go and clean up? I need to go and grab more bandages as well, because they are going to need to be changed when he wakes.”

“Of course. Thank you so much for taking care of him Desmond.” She said with gratitude before she waved him away, seeing his obvious reluctance to leave. “Go get cleaned up, he will still be here when you get back.”

"Alright, I will be back in a little bit then." He said as he left the room and made his way towards the wash room. He passed by several men in the hall and almost ran into Victor in his attempts to avoid the others.

"Victor, did all of your men make it back?"

Victor sighed and shook his head, "No and we are going to need to come up with another plan of attack. How is Adrian?"

"He is still unconscious. I removed the bullet before you returned. Evelyn is stilling with him now, while I go and freshen up and get some more bandages."

Victor hummed in acknowledgement and turned in the direction of his study. "Let me know when Adrian awakens, we will decide what we want to do from here." With that he left and Desmond was left alone in the hallway.

Sighing he quickly walked to the washroom at the end of the hall and stripped himself of his bloodied shirt and cleaned the blood off of his hands. It didn't take him long to clean up and find clean bandages before he made his way back to the bedroom.

Adrian opened his eyes seeing nothing at first but a few blurs. then as he blinked his eyes came into focus. “Emma?”

“Adrian It’s me honey. Your mom.”

Looking over Evelyn’s shoulder, he swore he saw Emma smile and nod to him before disappearing. “Mom...Where is Desmond? Is he ok? Is Dad ok? Did the plan work?”

Evelyn laughed at the bombardment of questions. “Hush Adrian. Desmond is fine and he will be back soon. He just went to get me some more bandages for your shoulder.”

Adrian nodded trying to remember what had happened. He remembered Desmond getting angry, he remembered what Raul had said to him, he remembered trying to free Jacob. Sighing in frustration and disappointment he began to remember how he got shot. He messed up.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait everyone! The holidays really screwed with our writing schedule, but hopefully we will be able to keep up with our flow and be able to update regularly again. So here is chapter 16 we hope you enjoy it!

Desmond walked into the bedroom and smiled when he saw that Adrian was awake, "Adrian, how are you feeling?" He asked as he crossed the room and sat on the bed.

“Like shit.” Adrian grumbled, averting Desmond’s eyes. “My shoulder’s sore but it will be fine.”

“Well I will leave you boys to talk, I have to help the other vampires. If you need anything Desmond, Let me know.” Evelyn kissed Adrian on the forehead and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. 

Adrian stared after his mother for a second before laying back down. “I’m sorry I messed everything up.” 

Desmond moved so that he was laying next to Adrian, and when the younger man wouldn't look at him, he placed his fingers under Adrian's chin and lightly turned him so that he would look at him. 

“Adrian my love, everything is fine. You helped Jacob escape and I am extremely grateful that you did. I wish you hadn’t gotten hurt in the process, but in no way did you do anything to hinder the plan or cause problems.” He smiled down at his lover, eyes shining with love and gratitude. “If you had not done what you did, I'm not sure how we would have gotten Jacob free.” 

Adrian visibly relaxed after his admission, though Desmond could still see the disbelieve in his eyes and face. Deciding to change the topic in order to make Adrian more comfortable, Desmond dropped his hand from Adrian's chin and began fussing with the bandages at his injured shoulder.

“I’m going to need to change your bandages soon and your father wanted to discuss things. Would you like me to change them now or after we have spoken with him?”

Adrian winced at the thought of having anyone touching his shoulder, even if it was Desmond's gentle touches. Not that speaking with his father after all of that was any better. He just couldn't do this. His parents were somehow alive, Raul was far too easily taking over everything, and he was sitting here with a wounded shoulder because he, like an idiot, thought he was as fast as a vampire. HA! He knew better, but he chose the wrong thing. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to just stop making any decisions period. Maybe he should just leave…

"I...uh...I'm fine Desmond...I really don't feel up to talking to Dad." He cursed himself for sounding so pathetic, but it was the truth. "Can I ask you something?...I want you to be honest with me."

“Of course you can. You know you can ask or tell me anything.” Desmond frowned seeing Adrian sound so small and defeated. “Adrian is everything alright?”

“Ha! Far from it. I’m in pain and I’m tired and Raul is still alive and he’s as smug as ever...but...Do you think he’s right?” He whispered, as if he were talking to himself. “He really wasn’t worried. Raul has a good poker face, I’ll give him that, but I know he wasn’t...I’m worried. I’m scared to death of losing you…”

In his head he already had the answer. No matter what Desmond was going to say, it won’t matter. There was no way around it, Adrian was a liability. The longer he stayed the more of a problem he would be. Raul’s words were festering in his mind and blocking out all sound. Blood red eyes glowing everywhere he looked, especially when he closed his eyes, and that familiar fear in the pit of his stomach; it could happen again...it would all happen again. He couldn’t shake it. This had to stop. 

“Adrian please look at me.” Desmond waited until the young man opened his eyes and looked sadly at him. The look of defeat and pain and fear in the detective's eyes caused Desmond’s heart to break and anger to swell within the pit of chest. He was determined to make sure that Raul would never again be able to affect Adrian like this again. Reaching out with both hands he cupped Adrian's face, making sure to keep him from looking away.

“Adrian I need for you to not let what that bastard says affect you. He will not ever be able to take me away from you. I will rip his head off before he even gets a chance, and no I don’t think he is right. I think he is scared and is willing say or do anything to try and make you doubt yourself. He wasn’t expecting my power and he certainly wasn’t expecting your parents to still be alive, so I expect he is going to be reeling for a little bit trying to figure out what to do next.”

He moved his left hand from Adrian's face and pushed some of the blond hair out of his eyes. Leaning in he placed a gentle kiss on Adrian's lips trying to convey all of his love and confidence with the small action.

Adrian melted into it. He tried not to, just to keep from hurting Desmond or himself any further until he could figure this out, but there was no stopping it. Desmond did things to him that no one else could. He would always hold onto that. Returning the kiss, Adrian forgot about his shoulder for a moment and tried to reach up to touch Desmond. Immediately he pulled back from the kiss and grit his teeth together in pain as his shoulder screamed in protest from the movement. “Damn it…”

Desmond stared down at Adrian with a worried expression as he sat back up. “Did I hurt you?” Adrian’s responded with a shake of his head and tried to smile through the ache in his shoulder. Desmond sighed internally at knowing that Adrian was going to say he was fine no matter what. “Try not to move your arm too much for the next few hours. Hopefully by tomorrow you will be able to move it without any pain. I imagine it will be stiff but it should be healed by then. I should change your bandages so I can go and tell your father that you are too tired to speak with him tonight.”

He nodded his head, smiling weakly at Desmond. “Thank you.”  
Watching him get up from the bed, Adrian’s mind was already off of his shoulder. “Desmond...Have you eaten yet?”

Desmond paused in his task of undoing the bandages and thought for a moment. With everything that had been happening the past day or so, He hadn’t really felt the need to feed. Now though since Adrian had mentioned it, he could feel the need building within him, his fangs aching to sink into flesh and partake until he was full. Frowning at his lack of sense he sighed, Adrian would not be able to give him any blood. He would have to go out and find a willing donor until his lover was healed.

“No I haven’t. I will go and find a willing donor after I speak with Victor, since you will not be able to provide for me until you are fully healed.” Adrian looked like he wanted to protest but Desmond cut him off before he could say anything. “I need you to get better. So I will not risk taking anymore blood from you tonight since you have already lost enough this evening.”

Adrian huffed but didn’t argue with him. He was right, after all, but the thought of him feeding off of someone else made him insanely jealous. He couldn’t figure out why he was jealous over it but he was. Never had a problem with it before and yet here he was, seriously wanting to argue that he would be fine when he knew damn well that he wouldn’t be. Desmond finished bandaging his shoulder, when he moved away from the bed Adrian closed his eyes and just laid there, lost in thought. He barely noticed Desmond kiss his forehead before leaving, or hearing him say he’d be back soon. After a while of silence he felt himself drift off into sleep, until a very cold hand pressed against the side of his face. Jolting awake and sitting up slightly, Adrian gasped and held onto his shoulder. He was about to start yelling when he saw Emma sitting on the bed beside him with tears down her cheeks. “Emma? Wha...What’s wrong?”

“You almost died...If I weren’t there you’d…”

“I know Emma...I messed up but, I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Father’s men...so many dead…”

Adrian started to speak but his words died in his throat. Even with all of them there, at their best, all thing’s considered, Raul still ‘won’. “He’s not all powerful Emma...Mom and Dad are alive. Desmond is here too...We can win this time.”

Emma looked towards the doorway and stood up from the bed. “I searched the house while you were busy...Raul had sent for men to attack London. They are planning to take over before Desmond returns unless you agree to go with him.”

“Then we will go back home now...Stop him there.”

“You won’t be able to leave. If you try Raul will attack while father can not help you.” Emma cried and covered her face with her pale hands. “I can’t help you either. All I can do is little things like I did when that vampire tried to kill you. I won’t be able to fight off anyone…”

“Emma...Come here sis…” Emma sat down on the bed again and leaned against him. “I’ll figure something out…”

“I know you very well Adrian...your ‘ill figure something out’ usually ends with you doing something stupid.”

“What happened to the ‘we are going to kick Raul’s ass’ speech before we left?”

Emma sat up and giggled, wiping her tears. “I’m sorry Adrian...it’s this place...I just feel so sad…”

Adrian looked out the window and noticed it was night. She wanted to see the fields. “I promise before we leave I’ll take you into the sun to see the barley fields. I know it will make you feel better.”

Emma’s tear stained face broke into a huge smile. “I would love that!”

“So...how many men of fathers were killed? Were mom or dad hurt?”

“No they were fine, Jacob is getting better, Desmond didn’t get hurt….You did a very brave thing Adrian. It wasn’t a mistake.” 

“You have got to get out of my head.” Adrian joked and pushed his sister off of the bed. “Go away I need a nap.”

Emma giggled on the floor but he didn’t see her stand. Confused as to why she wasn’t getting up he leaned over the bed to see she had disappeared. He shook his head and laid back against the pillows. The next time they fight Raul, someone else is going to get hurt. He could have stopped this years ago. Maybe it’s time he stopped it now, on his own so no one else will get hurt. He just got his parents back...he just couldn’t let anything happen to them. He couldn’t let Desmond fight his battles either. Before Adrian closed his eyes to go back to sleep, he made the hardest decision he’s ever made in his life. He was going to leave.

Desmond quietly left the bedroom and disposed of the used bloody bandages before heading to study, where he knew Victor was waiting. He entered the study without knocking and found Victor sitting behind his desk deep in thought. The older vampire looked up as Desmond crossed the threshold and waved him in when Desmond's steps faltered.

“My apologies Victor I should have knocked.”

“It is not a problem. Where is Adrian?” Victor asked, a look of worry and confusion graced his features noticing that his son was not with Desmond.

“Adrian is tired and not feeling up to moving around just yet, so I suggested that he wait until tomorrow to speak with you. I assumed that wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Of course not. My only concern right now is that he heals and recovers quickly.” Victor breathed out in relief. He had worried at Adrian had not yet woken. 

Desmond smiled at Victor’s understanding. “Is there anything else that you will require of me this evening?”

Victor looked over the papers on his desk thoughtfully before answering. “No I don’t think so. I was planning on meeting with those who managed to escape Raul's fortress tomorrow to discuss our next plan of attack. Take the rest of the evening to rest and spend time with Adrian. I will send Evelyn to inform you when we will be meeting tomorrow.”

“Alright then. If you need me before then, I will be out finding a donor so I can feed before heading back to the room that you provided for Adrian and myself.”

Victor nodded and Desmond let himself out of the room and made his way down to the first floor of the large house. Following his senses he found a room tucked away towards the back of the house where a makeshift bar had been set up. Several humans were milling around the room in various states of undress, making themselves available for the vampires hungry to feed. A quick glance around the room and Desmond spotted Jacob sitting in one of the many plush chairs located throughout the room with a woman in his lap. His second had obviously fed from the woman recently since she lay practically boneless in his arms, and Jacobs wounds had started to heal. 

Desmond quickly crossed the room and sat in the unoccupied chair across from Jacob and watched as the woman came to and gave a lazy smile to Jacob before standing up and sauntering off.

“Are you feeling better Jacob?” Desmond asked with a smirk as he watched the way his seconds eyes never left the woman's backside as she walked away.

“Very much so.” Tearing his eyes away from the lovely sight he looked at Desmond with a smile. “She is the third donor I have had to feed from in order to feel like myself again.” He confessed lowly and shifting forward slightly, trying to avoid being overheard. “That bastard did everything to try and break me. I am eternally grateful that you arrived when you did and that Adrian did what he did in order to free me. I am not sure how to thank you. If the two of you had not shown up not I am not sure how much longer I would have survived.” Jacob paused and took an unneeded breath trying to compose himself. 

Desmond reached over to him and grabbed a hold of Jacob's hand. “There is no need to thank me or Adrian. We would do it again because you are my friend and my Second. Without you I’m not entirely sure how I would be able to run the city.” Jacob’s mouth twitched into a faint smile before he huffed out a small chuckle.

“You are probably right. I’m sure that the men are in chaos right now without either of us there.”

“Oh I am sure.” Desmond agreed with a smile. “Victor is going to have a meeting tomorrow about our next steps in attacking Raul. I would like you there for your opinions and anything you might have heard while you were there.”

“Of course, I will help in anyway I can. I want to make sure that bastard pays for what he has done.” Jacob declared before he and Desmond stood. “I am going to go and find a place to sleep for the day. I will see you tomorrow at the meeting.”

“I look forward to it.” Desmond replied as he watched Jacobs retreating form. Sighing Desmond looked around for a donor and quickly caught the gaze of a young woman. Walking over to her, he made quick work of gaining her consent and drinking his fill before leaving the room and heading back up the stairs to Adrian.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrian makes a decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys...guys we are so sorry for not updating this for so long :( Life caught up to us and took over. Honestly I'm surprised Empressofthelight and I are functioning. I really don't know when we will be posting the next chapter but there are only about three chapters left in this story. But no worries this is not the end for Desmond and Adrian! We have another story planned out for them :-) We hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Adrian stared up at the ceiling in the bedroom and sighed. He couldn’t sleep. Whether it was because of how nervous and horrible he felt or because he was that exhausted, he had no idea, but nevertheless he was still very much awake. It felt like an eternity by the time Desmond came back into the room. Turning his head to the side to face him, Adrian smiled. “I don’t suppose you brought any whiskey with you, huh?”

Desmond huffed out a small laugh as he crossed the room and sat down on the bed next to Adrian. “I’m sorry I’m afraid I didn’t. Do you think there is anything else that will make up for my lack of foresight? ” He asked smiling, as he glanced over at Adrian and began to remove his boots.

“I can think of several things, all of them start with you wearing less clothes though.” Adrian smirked, eyeing Desmond up and down before settling on staring at his broad shoulders. “That isn’t a problem is it?” 

Desmond grinned over at Adrian slyly. “I think that can be arranged.” Kicking his boots away he stood and pulled his shirt over his head and threw it behind him. He watched his lover's face as he slowly began to push his pants down his hips. He delighted watching the lustful hungry expression that formed on Adrian’s face when his pants fell to the ground. “Do you like what you see?” He asked playfully before he sauntered up next to Adrian. 

Adrian nodded and licked his lips as he carefully reached out with his good arm and pulled the vampire closer. Desmond took the hint and climbed onto the bed, settling his knees on either side of Adrian’s hips, straddling him. The position allowed Desmond to be in control and ensure that Adrian wouldn't do anything to injure himself further. Taking advantage of his current position, Desmond ground his hips down against Adrian’s covered erection, eliciting a moan from the younger man as he threw his head back at the sensation. 

Desmond took in the sight of his lover, Adrian’s head was thrown back, mouth agape, and eyes squeezed shut. He loved seeing Adrian like this; in the throws of passion, free of worry and pain. His eyes wandered to the bandage that covered his lover's shoulder and devised a plan. Grinning wickedly he leaned down and began peppering Adrian's jaw with light kisses. When he reached his ear he bit down gently on the lobe, enough to elicit a whimper from the younger man but not enough to break the skin. “You are not allowed to move. If you move I will stop. Do you understand?” Desmond purred into his lover’s ear and pulled back far enough to see Adrian nod quickly. With a smile Desmond pecked Adrian’s lips with a quick kiss before reaching over to the bedside table and pulling out the jar of oil he had stashed in the drawer when he unpacked their bags the day before. 

Adrian watched Desmond intently as he moved off of the bed and quickly began to strip him of his remaining clothes before climbing back onto his lap. Grabbing the jar of oil from where he had set it on the table, Desmond opened it and poured a small amount onto his fingers before capping the bottle and throwing it down on the bed at their sides. 

“You are going to watch me open myself up, and then I am going to ride you. But remember if you move I will stop.” Desmond said with a smirk as he reached down and began began to circle and tease the rim of his opening.

Adrian groaned, and gripped the sheets beneath him tightly. “I think that this is incredibly unfair.” Adrian breathed out as Desmond slipped a finger into himself and began to open himself. The sight alone of Desmond's long finger disappearing into the tight hole was enough to make his cock twitch and leak. 

Adrian watched hungrily as Desmond slowly added a second and third finger before he finally deemed himself ready. Removing his fingers, he grabbed the oil and poured a generous amount into his hand and slicked Adrian's cock with it before capping and throwing the bottle. By the time Desmond was positioned over him, Adrian's knuckles had turned white from how tightly he was gripping the bed sheets. Desmond noticed and smiled.

“Is everything alright my love?” he asked as he hovered just above Adrian's leaking erection.

Adrian glared at the vampire above him, he was so unbelievable hard and aching. He needed Desmond to touch him and the damn vampire was teasing him. “How do you think I am? Desmond please just do it! If you don’t I swear I’ll ahhhhhhh!” Adrian was cut off as Desmond sank down onto him until he was buried all the way to the base of his cock in one swift movement. It took everything he had to not reach up and grab Desmond’s hips as the vampire began to move.

Desmond watched the internal struggle on Adrians face, he could see how badly his lover wanted to reach out and grab ahold of him and set the pace but resisted. With a smile he began to roll his hips and shifted forward just enough so that Adrian's cock brushed against his prostate with each thrust. He knew that if he kept up this pace that he would not last much longer and he was determined to have Adrian cum first, and from the way the detective was moaning out unintelligible words he wasn't too far off. Desmond increased his pace and leaned forward to capture Adrian's lips in his own, only to manage clicking their teeth together and pant hotly into each others mouths. 

“Uummfff Desmond i'm so close... I'm gonna uuuuhhh...” Adrian cried out as he came, spilling his seed deep inside of Desmond. Seconds later Desmond followed spurting his release over Adrien's chest untouched. The two of them stayed where they were for a few minutes, with Desmond propping himself up to keep his weight off of Adrian, until finally he regained enough of his senses back to slip off of Adrian's softening length and roll onto his side next to his lover.

Adrian breathed deeply, finding it ironic that he could move but had no desire to. Desmond felt perfect at his side and that wasn’t just the post-orgasm fatigue talking. He really felt perfect. Turning his head to better look at Desmond's sated expression, Adrian began to question himself and his decision to leave. He laid there next to the vampire, watching him fall into a deep sleep for minutes or hours. He didn’t know or care.

When it came time to leave like he planned, he didn’t move. The plan had been so clear: go to Raul, become his draga vere, and make damn certain that slimy bastard never hurt anyone Adrian cared about ever again. But now that he watched Desmond sleep and feel his body pressed up against his side, he couldn’t bring himself to move. His eyes began to sting the more he thought of leaving and the lump in his throat wouldn’t go away. He loved Desmond. He loved him so much that it hurt. This, having to leave, hurt. He wasn’t expecting it to hurt this much. He felt like he was grieving, like one of them were dying and would never see each other again. No matter what he did, Raul still managed to destroy him. 

Adrian kissed Desmond’s forehead, lingering longer than he meant to. “I love you.”

Desmond replied with a very sleepy hum of contentment. Adrian didn’t think the vampire had a clue what was said but the reply was treasured none the less. Slipping very carefully from Desmond’s side and the tangle of sheets, Adrian stood beside the bed with one final glance at his future, if he’d been strong enough to have it. Silently, he made his way around the room getting dressed. He fastened the last strap on his boots and grabbed his crossbow before ducking out of the room, refusing to look back.

Desmond woke to a cold empty space beside him. Blinking the sleep from his eyes he sat up and glanced around the room, frowning in confusion when he didn’t see Adrian. Figuring that the young man had gone down to get something to eat he shrugged off the feeling of uneasiness that settled in his gut and got up and dressed for the day. Making his way through the house he could hear the some people moving around, but for the most part the house was quite. 

He had hoped to run into Adrian, but he couldn't find him anywhere in the house. Concerned he made his way to Victor’s study, in the hopes that his love would be there with his parents. His hopes were dashed when he entered and found Victor and Evelyn speaking quietly to each other and Adrian nowhere in sight. The sense of unease flooded back and fear began to creep down his spine.

“Good morning Desmond, I hope you and Adrian slept well.” Evelyn chirped happily when she noticed him approaching. Her smile quickly dropped when she saw the worry etched on his face.

“Desmond is everything alright?” Victor inquired as he stood from behind his desk and made his way towards him. 

“No, when I awoke Adrian was gone, and I can’t seem to find him anywhere.”

“Have you tried to contact him through your bond? You should be able to.” 

Desmond gave the older vampire a grateful look, he had completely forgotten about the bond. “No, but I’ll try now.” 

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the bond that he felt between him and Adrian; it was there but adrian himself seemed to be shielded from him. No matter how hard he tried to reach out to him, it was like a door would slam tightly shut, not allowing him to find or communicate with him. 

“I can’t reach him, I can feel him there, but he has been cut off from me. How is that possible?” He asked, fear creeping into his voice. 

“I’m not entirely sure, but I assure you Desmond, we will find him and what is causing this.” Victor told him as he came up and rested his hand on the younger vampire shoulder. 

“I’m going to go and search the grounds around the house,” Desmond turned and headed in the direction of the front door. “I’ll grab Jacob and some of your men to help me if that's alright?”

“Of course. Evelyn and I will join you as well.”

Desmond nodded and went in search of his second.

\---------------------------------------

Adrian kept walking. He thought about turning around, even stopped a few times, but he knew this was the right decision. It was easier when he saw the house in the distance. He felt a surge of determination and Desmond’s presence all but disappeared. Adrian thought it was strange, but soon he wouldn’t need to worry about it. This would make it better. Better for both of them. Bile rose in his throat thinking about it. He was going to kill Raul. This was never going to happen again. 

“Adrian?”

Adrian scowled, stopping dead in his tracks and raising his cross bow. He searched all around him but saw nothing. “Raul. I’m not here to fight...Just come out...I want to talk.”

“Talk?” Raul whispered from just behind Adrian. 

He was pretty proud of himself for not getting the shit scared out of him. “Yeah. Talk.”

“What could you possibly have to say, Detective Adrian?” A woman spoke from further up the road.

Adrian had to squint to see her but he could hear her as if she were standing right beside him. “Who the hell are you?”

“My name is Layla Smith. Don’t you remember me?”

Adrian’s scowl deepened. That name was ringing a really big fucking bell. He did know her from somewhere. The more he thought about it the more blanks he was drawing. Raul didn’t leave him to think for long. “Well, my love?”

He glared at Raul. “No I don’t.” He wanted to say ‘don’t call me that’.

“It wasn’t that long ago...here maybe this will jog your memory,” Layla walked up to him and touched his forehead. Images of her lying dead and bloody on the white velvet chaise lounge in her flat, flashed into his mind. 

Adrian scrambled backwards away from her. “You...but you were dead!?”

“A clever ruse, meant to trick you into action.” Raul chuckled, stepping away enough for Adrian to gawk at them both.

“I...I don’t understand.” Adrian managed to sputter out.

Layla cackled, making Adrian feel foolish.

When Raul grabbed hold of his shoulder to explain, Adrian wondered what he believed anymore, “Layla’s been helping me for a long time Adrian. She’s the first person who ever saw what I was capable of. She’s a witch. A powerful witch, much more powerful than anyone at Desmond’s disposal. We are so close to taking over all of the territories. I just have a few left, but they will fall into place soon. Don’t you see, Adrian? I’m going to be the king of all vampires. Master of all territories and I want you to be my Drága vére… ” 

Raul squeezed Adrian’s shoulder, but he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Layla had been helping Raul all of this time? Was she the reason Raul turned on him or was he lying from the start? Pursing his lips, Adrian made himself push all of those questions away. In the end it didn’t matter who Raul thought did what. It only mattered that Desmond and his parent’s would be safe. Raul had his chance and now Adrian was getting a second one. He wasn’t going to lose it. “That’s what I’m here to talk about…”

Layla snickered, swaying her hips while she turned to walk back to the house. “We know. If you weren’t, you’d be dead already.”

Adrian scowled at her but didn’t react. His fight wasn’t with her...yet. “I’m already Desmond’s Drága vére...Fully. I can’t be a Drága vére for both of you.”

“No. You can’t,” Raul whispered, a pleased smirk spreading across his pale face. “do you wish to be mine, Adrian?”

“Yes,” He breathed, wondering where all of the numbness in his heart was coming from. “I’m tired of running. This is where I belong.”

Layla glanced back at them over her shoulder but said nothing. Raul's cruel red eyes glowed in response. “You know that there is no way for you to leave his hold. You would stay here away from him, suffering, possibly dying to be with me?”

“Yes. I-I made a mistake...I know where I need to be and that’s here with you.”

“I would have it no other way,” Raul murmured, wrapping his arm around Adrian and guiding him up towards the house. “we have a long night ahead of us, My Love. This sacrifice you are making for me will not be in vain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments and kudos are very much appreciated :) and if you would like to bug us about this story, or any of our other stories come and bug Empress and myself on our tumblr's 
> 
> http://niceven-silace.tumblr.com/
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**Author's Note:**

> Please let us know what you think!


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